Ministry of Health allows distribution of 30,000 Remdesivir vials

Recipients include 11 hospitals, 12 departments of health in cities and provinces consisting of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Da Nang, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Soc Trang, Ben Tre, Kien Giang and Hau Giang, and the health division of the Military Medicine Department.

Earlier, 10,000 vials were distributed on August 8 for Ho Chi Minh City and a number of southern provinces. Another 30,000 vials of the drug were recently distributed on August 17 for 17 hospitals and health departments in the south.

Remdesivir was the first antiviral drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October, 2020 for treating COVID-19 patients. It has the ability to shorten treatment times and speed up recovery for critically ill patients.

The drug has been approved and authorised for use in approximately 50 countries worldwide. It is now one of the world's leading specialised drugs.

On August 2, with the ministry’s guidance, conglomerate Vingroup had successfully negotiated for 500,000 vials of Remdesivir from Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla under licensing agreement from US-based Gilead Sciences. The first batch arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City on August 5.