Deputy secretary of defense

The vaccine was jointly studied and produced by AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company and the UK’s Oxford University. Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong highlighted the significance of the vaccine delivery at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is erupting in Hai Duong, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh. With the delivery, Vietnam has become one of the first countries in Asia to access a prestigious vaccine in the world. In order to achieve the dual goal of fighting the pandemic and developing the economy, it is necessary to increase vaccination to reach community immunity, he said. Apart from stepping up the trial and production of vaccines at home, the Health Ministry is working to import more vaccines from other producers as directed by the Government while preparing for vaccination in the priority list, he added. Vu Thu Ha, Director of the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) – importer of the vaccine, said the batch will be brought to the VNVC’s super cold facilities for storage in line with the Government and Health Ministry’s regulations. Result from clinical trials showed that 22 days after the first shot, AstraZeneca vaccine could fully protect people from serious illness, hospitalization and death caused by the novel coronavirus. Within 90 days, the vaccine’s potency could reach 76 percent. Analyses showed that the vaccine could reduce infection risk by two thirds for cases without symptoms. Source: VNA …

[Read more...] about First batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Vietnam

At around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, the flight carrying Covid-19 vaccine doses arrived at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat Airport. They're the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University and imported by Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). After landing, the plane carrying the vaccine is guided to its berth. Employees at Tan Son Nhat Airport prepare to receive the vaccines while wearing protective suits. The first vaccine batch leaves the plane. A VNVC representative said the batch is part of an agreement last November with AstraZeneca. Truong Quoc Cuong, Deputy Health Minister, at Tan Son Nhat Airport on Wednesday said Vietnam and Thailand are the first two ASEAN countries to receive Covid-19 vaccines produced by AstraZeneca. Vaccine containers are loaded onto special vehicles at the airport. They would be transported to VNVC cold storage units kept at between two to eight degrees Celsius. Containers are disinfected to prevent possible contamination and infection. An airport worker inspects the containers before transportation. Around 30 million Covid-19 vaccine doses would be provided to Vietnam within the first half of this year according to the health ministry. Through Covax, a global mechanism for developing, manufacturing and procuring Covid-19 vaccines and supply for member countries, Vietnam would receive an additional 4.9 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine within the first half of this year as well as 33 million more in the third quarter. A container is transported to cold storage. VNVC is the first Vietnamese firm to possess Covid-19 vaccines and the only firm chosen by AstraZeneca to distribute the vaccine in large numbers across Vietnam. In January, VNVC was approved by the Health Ministry to import, export and store vaccines and other biological products at low …

[Read more...] about AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine batch lands in HCMC

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered remarks at an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security, which was held in the form of video conferencing on February 23. Following is the full text of the Prime Minister’s remarks. Mr. President, I applaud the initiative of the UK Government and yourself, Mr. President, to host this important UNSC open debate on “Addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security”. I would like to thank UN Secretary General António Guterres and Chair of the UN Youth Advisory Group Nisreen Elsaim for your insightful and substantive information and recommendations. Mr. President, Earth – our blue planet, and our shared home – is suffering from grievous impacts of climate change. 2020 was one of the three hottest years in modern history, and was faced with the constant and severe aftermaths of floods, droughts, bushfires, rising sea level, and the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Such calamities have placed great burdens on the political and socio-economic life of many countries. They have caused unemployment and poverty, affected the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people, and risked creating instabilities or exacerbating present conflicts in many countries and regions, thus threatening international peace and security. In addition, conflicts and instabilities would further erode countries’ resilience, and rob them of valuable resources that could have been utilised to overcome the challenges of climate change. Therefore, I propose that the UNSC, with its foremost mission being the maintenance of international peace and security, needs to galvanize collective and persevering efforts of the international community via the following measures: First, a comprehensive and balanced approach is necessary in handling the connections between traditional …

[Read more...] about Remarks by PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at UNSC meeting on addressing climate-related risks to international peace, security