Health Minister works with Jonhson & Jonhson on COVID-19 vaccine supply

Affirming that Vietnam wants to quickly access diverse sources of vaccines to serve domestic demand for vaccination, Long wished Johnson & Johnson to develop a plan on supplying Vietnam with its vaccine.

Vietnam also wants to cooperate with the group in outsourcing and technology transfer to establish a vaccine production facility in the country, he added.

Many Vietnamese groups want to join the global vaccine supply chain, thus Johnson & Johnson’s technology transfer to Vietnam to produce COVID-19 vaccine is highly expected, the minister said.

Vietnam is among more than 40 nations worldwide that is capable of making vaccines against the coronavirus. Vietnam's National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for vaccines also meets the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Lauding Vietnam’s effective pandemic prevention and control, a Johnson & Johnson representative said that the company has joined the COVAX mechanism with a commitment to supplying 200 million doses of its vaccine until the end of 2021.

Johnson & Johnson pledged that it will strive to speed up the vaccine supply process via the mechanism, so that Vietnam could secure the vaccine as soon as possible. The group also unveiled its plan on applying its vaccine for authorisation in Vietnam

The Johnson& Johnson side said it will consider the possibility of transferring vaccine production technology to Vietnam.

The same day, Samsung Vietnam handed over VND10 billion (US$431,376) worth of donations to the COVID-19 vaccine fund of Bac Ninh, as the northern province has borne the brunt of the fourth wave of the pandemic in Vietnam, which began in late April.

Samsung Bac Ninh employs about 50,000 workers, of whom approximately 15,000 are expected to be vaccinated.