Vietnam receives nearly 1 mln extra AstraZeneca vaccine doses

By Thu Anh July 14, 2021 | 11:51 pm PT

A man receives a Covid-19 vaccine shot in HCMC, June 21, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

921,400 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses arrived at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat International Airport Thursday.

The fourth batch, part of a 30-million dose purchase contract between AstraZeneca and Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC), is the largest so far. Previously, batches were sent to Vietnam on Feb. 24, May 25 and July 9.

The 921,400 doses would be transferred to the Ministry of Health on a non-profit basis, said Ngo Chi Dung, chairman of the management board and general director of VNVC.

So far, Vietnam has received 1.9 million vaccine doses as per the contract. A total 6.4 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses have been secured by Vietnam either through contracts, global vaccine access mechanism Covax or foreign aid.

Over 4.14 million people in Vietnam have received at least one AstraZeneca vaccine shot, with over 286,700 having already received two.

Vietnam has also allowed mixing AstraZeneca shots with those of Pfizer/BioNTech should supply dwindle.