Two million US-donated Moderna vaccine doses arrive in Hanoi

Minh Vu

Jul 10, 2021 / 12:01 PM

Vietnam will also benefit from 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines that the US pledged to assist the global needs.

Two million Moderna vaccine doses arrived in Hanoi today [July 10] through the COVAX Facility as part of the US donation to assist the fight against Covid-19 in Vietnam.

A batch of two million Modern vaccine doses arrives in Hanoi on July 10. Photo: UNICEF

Speaking at a ceremony marking the arrival, Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Christopher Klein, said “The shipment gives us hope that there is an end in sight to our fight against Covid-19. It gives us hope that we will be able to return to our normal lives.”

Attending the handover ceremony, the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra said “The UN welcomes the United States government donation of Covid-19 vaccines via COVAX’s dose-sharing mechanism which arrived in Vietnam today.”

In addition to this vaccine donation, the US has provided more than US$17.7 million in Covid-19 related assistance to Vietnam since the start of the pandemic, according to the US Embassy in Hanoi.

(From left) UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra, Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Christopher Klein, and Vietnam's Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long. Photo: MoH

Vietnam is among 92 low and lower-middle-income beneficiaries of the COVAX Facility that is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF as key delivery partners.

Earlier, Vietnam has received 2,493,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX Facility.

Today’s shipment is part of the 80 million doses of vaccine that President Biden committed from the US vaccine supply to share with the world.

President Biden also recently announced that the US would provide 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to 92 recipient countries, which includes Vietnam and the African Union, through the COVAX Facility.

“We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic,” said the US President.

So far, the US has contributed $2 billion to Gavi in support of COVAX’s purchase and delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to 92 recipient countries, making it the largest single financial donor supporting COVAX.