Speaking at the handover ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung expressed the appreciation for the donations of the Governments of France and Italy as well as for the support of COVAX in ensuring the equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The Vietnamese Government has been taking strong measures to control the spread of coronavirus, including speeding up vaccination for its population, especially those living in the epicentres.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan affirmed that Vietnam would quickly distribute the donated vaccines to the provinces and ensure that the vaccines would be used effectively.
“We are grateful to the Governments and peoples of France and Italy for sending additional doses of vaccine through the COVAX Facility”, said Dr Kidong Park, United Nations Resident Coordinator ad interim and the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Vietnam.
“As we get more vaccines for the country, it is critical for the Government to provide vaccines strategically to the people who need it the most, based on priorities. This means protecting health care workers and frontline workers, the elderly, people with co-morbidities and those who are at highest risk of severe diseases or deaths”, he added.
“With this donation, France is demonstrating its solidarity with Vietnam through these difficult times: we stand together with the people of Vietnam, as the country is facing a severe epidemic wave, by supporting vaccination efforts launched by the authorities”, said French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicholas Warnery.
In the spirit of the strategic partnership and sincere friendship that links Italy and Vietnam, Italy stands close to the Vietnamese Government and people in the fight against Covid-19, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro noted.
With the delivery of vaccines donated by the Government of France and Italy, Vietnam has received 11,725,630 doses of COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX Facility. The COVAX Facility is co-led by WHO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF as a key delivery partner.
