US vaccine donation means a lot to Vietnam: Ambassador

The donation of Covid-19 vaccine for Asia, including Vietnam, by the Biden Administration is of great meaning in the face of widespread transmission, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc. Photo: MOFA

The Biden administration on June 3 announced an allocation plan for the first 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses abroad, including seven million for Asia. Vietnam is one of the recipients.

Ngoc said the time when the administration announced that Vietnam was among the first countries to receive the vaccine aid in June was “very significant”.

Two third of the total 25 million doses will be allocated via the COVAX Facility to maximize the number of vaccines available equitably for the greatest number of countries and for those most at-risk within countries, while the remaining is for immediate needs and to help with surges around the world, according to the White House.

Vietnam will receive the doses through COVAX.

The first 25 million doses are among at least 80 million doses that Washington has planned to share with the rest of the world by the end of June.

Vietnam highly appreciates the US contribution of US$4 billion to the COVAX program and 

Ngoc said the support will greatly intensify the vaccination of Vietnam’s frontline forces and priority groups in the fresh outbreak, noting that many representatives of the US government have shared their support to Vietnam in this difficult time.

Adam Sitkoff, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hanoi. Photo: AmCham

Meanwhile, Adam Sitkoff, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hanoi, said the support results from joint efforts by many people calling for the US vaccine allocation, including President Nguyen Xuan Phuc who has recently sent a letter to President Biden.

He called for the support “a wonderful start” of a large scale program to use vaccine by US suppliers, adding that the amount will be much higher than 80 million in this summer.

Adam Sitkoff has stressed the importance of vaccination, saying that it plays an essential role in pursue the recovery plans.

In a survey conducted by AmCham on May 21-22 about the impact of the latest Covid-19 outbreak on business operations in Vietnam, its members named “Lack of vaccine to protect their workforce/ team” is the biggest among seven business challenges and “Burdensome travel requirements” the second biggest.

Regarding the vaccination, around 1.16 million doses have been administered to people in Vietnam. The country ranks lowest in Southeast Asian in terms of inoculation with 1.08 doses per 100 persons.