Vietnam approves Sinopharm Covid vaccine for emergency use

The vaccine, called Vero Cell, Inactivated, is produced by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co.Ltd. The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology suggested for the vaccine to be approved, and its approval was signed by deputy health minister Truong Quoc Cuong on Thursday.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology will be responsible for cooperating with vaccine manufacturers to ensure the production of this vaccine and its safety and quality.

The institute will also cooperate with the Administration of Science, Technology and Training under the health ministry to evaluate the vaccine's safety and effectiveness, and with the National Institute for Control of Vaccines and Biologicals to evaluate the vaccine by providing samples and other relevant materials, before the vaccine could be put into use.

The institute will also provide instructions on how to store, distribute and use the vaccine.

The Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine is the third one to be approved by Vietnam for emergency use, after Russia’s Sputnik V and the one made by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

The vaccine was approved by China last December and by WHO for emergency use last month.

Some 42 countries and territories have been using the vaccine, of which 200 million doses have been shipped worldwide.

Vietnam has been using the AstraZeneca vaccine for its vaccination program, under which over 1.1 million people have got shots so far.

The country aims to secure about 150 million vaccine doses this year to cover 70 percent of its population.