Vietnam included in Australia’s US$58 million support for Covid-19 vaccine access

Vietnam is among countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia that are eligible to access to safe, effective and affordable Covid-19 vaccines through the Gavi COVAX Facility Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), supported by Australia.

Vietnam is striving to have Covid-19 vaccines available through several channels

The COVAX AMC will secure and distribute Covid-19 vaccines for all countries, not just those that can afford to purchase or manufacture vaccines themselves.

Australia’s contribution of AU$80 million (US$57.84 million) will help secure Covid-19 vaccines for Pacific Island and Southeast Asian countries. The AMC will address the acute phase of the pandemic, providing doses for up to 20% of countries’ populations in its first phase, ensuring that health care workers and vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, have access.

Access to vaccines will play a critical role in the economic recovery of the region from this pandemic.

Pacific countries eligible for COVAX AMC support include Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati. Eligible countries from Southeast Asia are Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The COVAX AMC forms part of the wider COVAX Facility, a global mechanism designed to enable rapid, fair and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines to end the acute phase of the pandemic by 2021.

Vietnam is in a race for Covid-19 vaccines but a locally-developed vaccine will not be available until next year. Meanwhile, it has registered to acquire vaccines from a number of countries such as Russia and the UK.