Vietnam gives priority to flights carrying Covid-19 vaccines

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has requested Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM), the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and airlines to facilitate flights transporting the Covid-19 vaccines.

All flights shipping Covid-19 vaccines to Vietnam or making transit in the country will receive priority landing rights so as to ensure vaccine quality, the CAAV said on June 7.

A Vietnam Airlines flight transports batches of Covid-19 vaccines. Photo: VNA

The ACV, which operates 21 airports in Vietnam, has been urged to create the most favorable conditions in terms of infrastructure for these flights, while the VATM is required to direct air traffic services to establish landing priority for these flights, to shorten the transportation time.

"Airlines operating vaccine cargo flights should fill out the Covid-19 vaccine form when applying for a flight permit," said the CAAV.

Experts have said that the transportation of Covid-19 vaccines must be as quick and precise as possible so that their quality remains unaffected by exterior conditions, especially heat.

Most Covid-19 vaccines, including the one produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, require storage at 2-8 Degrees Celsius.

However, others like those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna using the mRNA technique, need to be stored at temperatures between minus 80 Degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius, even during transportation.

Vietnam began its Covid-19 vaccination program on March 8 using the AstraZeneca vaccine that was procured through commercial contracts and via the Covax facility.

Over 1.2 million people of the nation’s 96-million population have been vaccinated, mainly frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight, including medics at local hospitals, according to the Ministry of Health.