The first 117,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Vietnam

Today, the flight carrying the first doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine landed at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing new hope in Vietnam's fight against the pandemic.

The shipment includes 117,600 doses ofCovid-19 vaccineThe first batch of the vaccine to arrive in the country was welcomed by Dr. Truong Quoc Cuong - Deputy Minister of Health, along with representatives of the Departments, Bureaus and Institutes under the Ministry of Health; representatives of AstraZeneca Vietnam Co., Ltd. and Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC); and Ms. Emily Hamblin, British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine was approved for urgent use in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in Vietnam in early February 2021.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long, member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Health, said: “The first doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine have arrived in time as the country is responding to the new outbreak. We will prioritize vaccination for frontline workers and those in accordance with Government regulations; the Ministry of Health is currently working hard to negotiate with other vaccine manufacturers to provide enough vaccines for the people in 2021 as directed by the Politburo.

This vaccine will help us move one step closer to overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic and returning life to normal. We appreciate the active cooperation of all relevant agencies, ministries and sectors, AstraZeneca Vietnam and VNVC, which has helped Vietnam become one of the first countries in Asia to access the Covid-19 vaccine."

Mr. Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and CEO of AstraZeneca Vietnam, said: “We are grateful for the proactive vaccine access strategy and the trust of the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Health that has enabled the vaccine batch to be available in Vietnam soon. As per the guidelines, these first doses will undergo the final quality control process before being handed over to the Ministry of Health/VNVC to start vaccination for priority groups.

After 27 years of being associated with Vietnam, AstraZeneca is proud to make a meaningful contribution to the fight against Covid-19 and the national economic recovery through the supply of this vaccine. We will continue to work closely with the Government, the Ministry of Health and VNVC to provide vaccines to people as quickly and safely as possible."

British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said: “The AstraZeneca and Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine is a great example of UK science and innovation. I am delighted that it is now available in Vietnam for the national vaccination programme. Science and collaboration will help us beat the pandemic.”

The vaccine was shown to be well tolerated and effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19. After the first dose, the vaccine provided 76% protection for 90 days, with no significant decline in protection over this period. Vaccine efficacy after the second booster dose was higher with a longer interval than the first dose, reaching 81% when the interval between the two doses was 12 weeks or longer.

Results from a clinical trial showed that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provided 100% protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death from Covid-19 from 22 days after the first dose. The analysis also showed that the vaccine had the potential to reduce the risk of asymptomatic transmission of the virus by two-thirds. This significant proportion was determined based on weekly nasal swab samples collected from volunteers in the UK trial.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (2-8^oC) for at least six months, allowing for easy use within existing healthcare facility conditions.

This batch of vaccine is produced by AstraZeneca through a global supply chain. To ensure broad and equitable access to the vaccine, in 2020, AstraZeneca has built more than ten regional supply chains, leveraging its own capabilities and working with more than 20 partners to accelerate vaccine production and supply.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine has been granted conditional marketing authorization or emergency use approval in more than 50 countries, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has also granted emergency use authorization to accelerate vaccine access for more than 145 countries through the COVAX Facility, the vaccine procurement and supply activity under the "Global Access to Covid-19 Vaccines (COVAX)" mechanism.