Vietnam to receive 50 mln Pfizer vaccine doses in fourth quarter

Nguyen Thanh Long said Mondy that more Covid-19 vaccine doses would arrive in the fourth quarter, including around 47-50 million of the Pfizer vaccine. He did not mention possible numbers for other vaccines apart from saying they would also be available.

Vietnam has so far received over 420,000 Pfizer doses. The Health Ministry has approved administration of the Pfizer vaccine as the second dose for those who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine as their first. The second Pfizer does will only be administered with the consent of the recipient.

A total of 17.6 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been received to date from multiple manufacturers, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sputnik V and Sinopharm.

Long also said Monday that localities need to speed up their vaccination rates. Some were too "careful" in allowing the administration to happen only in hospitals, he said.

He said no limit had to be placed on the number of vaccination stations or doses given per session.

Vietnam has so far vaccinated over 6.4 million people against Covid-19, with around 660,000 getting two shots.

The country aims to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating 70 percent of its population.