About 90 CEOs of US fashion brands like Adidas, Coach, Gap, Hanebrands, Nike, VF, and Under Amour have proposed the US President donate more Covid-19 vaccines to Vietnam to help their Vietnamese partners maintain the supply chain, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).
Vietnam is the US's second-largest garment and footwear supplier.
It’s estimated that about three million US laborers are associated with the operations of the aforementioned industries.
| Trials of ARCT-154 vaccine candidate in Hanoi on August 15. Photo: MoH |
Vietnamese Government on August 15 allowed the Ministry of Health to import 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccine under the bidder selection for special cases.
Government leader Pham Minh Chinh announced at a meeting today that Vietnam will offer free-of-charge vaccination to local people.
He also suggested increasing bonuses for health workers who participate in the inoculation campaign.
As of August 15, more than 14.43 million doses have been administered out of about 19 million doses arrived in the country. Of the total vaccinated people, about 1.35 million people have been fully inoculated.
Half of the total jabs have been administered in 19 cities and provinces, the most affected area. Of them, the epicenter of Ho Chi Minh City has injected 4.5 million doses.
Vietnam today launched phase 1 trials of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate which is developed by the US-based Arcturus Therapeutics.
ARCT-154 vaccine also known as VBC-COV19-154 in Vietnam will be clinically tested on 100 volunteers in Hanoi in 40 days starting August 15.
Hanoi Medical University will take responsibility for the trials.
ARCT-154 is a two-dose self-amplifying mRNA vaccine to be produced under the collaboration of VinBioCare (a member of Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam) and Arcturus.
| Testing in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi on August 13. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times |
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi
The most populous Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) today announced that it will extend the lockdown for a month to curb the transmission of the disease that has caused more than 149,000 infections in the city.
To date, HCMC has undergone 38 days of lockdown that mandates the stay-at-home order except for emergencies and the purchase of essential goods. Before, the lockdown, the city experienced a 40-day social distancing period.
An average of 4,000 infections and 241 deaths are reported each day over the past weeks. Accounting for two-thirds of the national figures.
Hanoi’s police today said it will check the demand for returning hometown of people living outside Hanoi and of Hanoians who are currently outside the city.
Accordingly, the city will bring home those who are in need.
The move is said to help meet the people’s legitimate rights and to serve the city’s anti-pandemic work.
Hanoi reported an average of 70 coronavirus cases per day and the city is on the third week of lockdown. The pandemic remains under control but the local government has prepared for the worst-case scenario with 40,000 infections.
To ensure sufficient premises and resources for the worse situation, the city is building makeshift hospitals while asking medical facilities to build oxygen supply plans.
Daily infections
Vietnam reports additional 9,580 Covid-19 infections and 337 deaths on August 15. Of the total, Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 47%. It adds to the country’s total of 275,044 cases and 5,774 decreased.
| Vietnam's Covid-19 infections. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu |
