Vietnam sets up national Covid-19 fund to acquire 150 million vaccine doses
Many giant companies have each donated millions of dollars to the fund.
Vietnam has set up a Covid-19 vaccine fund to serve the vaccine purchase and the development of domestic kinds.
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The newly-established Vietnam Fund for Vaccination Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (VFVC) focuses on managing domestic and international financial sources and donations.
The non-profit fund is managed by the Ministry of Finance, which will pay for plans proposed by the Ministry of Health.
The fund is a tool to enable Vietnam to acquire enough vaccine for its population.
It’s estimated that the country needs approximately VND25.2 trillion (US$1.1 billion), including VND16 trillion from the state budget to acquire 150 million vaccine doses, the volume that helps Vietnam achieve herd immunization in 2022.
Demand for vaccine has been on the rise in the face that Vietnam is undergoing the fresh coronavirus outbreak that caused more than 3,000 infections within a month and paralyzed some industrial parks.
Some sectors like manufacturing, supporting industries, garment and textile, and retail sales have proposed the government prioritize their fields and workers in industrial parks while businesses said they are willing to pay for vaccination.
So far, dozens of domestic companies have donated million dollars each to the fund. The donors include leading banks like Vietcombank, Agribank, VietinBank, BIDV, TPBank, HDBank, and companies namely Vingroup, Sovico, Petrovietnam, DOJI, T&T, Ecopark, among others.
According to the Ministry of Health, the lack of vaccines is the biggest problem challenging Vietnam. It is seeking different sources through various channels to fulfill the inoculation plans.
