PM requests Russia to prioritize Covid vaccines for Vietnam

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday requested Russia to speed up procedures for signed Covid-19 vaccine contracts so Vietnam could receive the vaccines as early as possible this year.

In a meeting with Gennady Bezdetko, Russian ambassador in Vietnam, Chinh thanked Russia for having provided its Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V for Vietnam’s coronavirus fight.

Chinh has asked Russia to continue to support Vietnam regarding vaccines, including speeding up procedures of signed Covid-19 vaccine contracts so it could receive them as early as possible within this year, and cooperating in tech transfer for Covid-19 vaccine and drug production.

Last month, the government has agreed to a proposal by the health ministry and let the T&T Group negotiate with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) the purchase of 40 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.

The group purchased the vaccine with its own fund, not the national budget nor the Covid-19 vaccine fund. The RDIF has also cooperated with Vabiotech to trial packaging one batch of the Sputnik V vaccine, containing 30,000 doses. The batch has been sent to Russia for evaluation.

The Sputnik V vaccine, manufactured by Russian company Generium, utilizes the vector technology to stimulate immune responses.

Bezdetko affirmed Vietnam has always been Russia’s prioritized partner in the Asia-Pacific, and he would strive to strengthen the two countries’ relations.

Vietnam has vaccinated more than 7.29 million people against Covid-19, including 744,331 who have been fully vaccinated.

It aims to achieve herd immunity by next year through vaccinating 70 percent of its 96 million population.

By Viet Tuan – VnExpress.net – August 4, 2021