Swine flu vaccine

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Thursday that the Ministry of Health and Government Office should draw up specific guidelines for the purpose. No details of how or from whom they will mobilize funds are known yet. Vietnam plans to procure 150 million doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, global vaccine access mechanism Covax and domestic producers by 2022, the ministry has said. The first batch of 117,600 doses from AstraZeneca was delivered on Wednesday. Hanoi has decided it will provide free vaccination, and estimates it will need 15 million doses to vaccinate everyone above 18. The northern port city Hai Phong plans to acquire more than two million doses. …

[Read more...] about Hanoi, Hai Phong get green light for private funding to buy Covid-19 vaccines

Coteccons Construction Joint Stock Company and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam have already registered to purchase tens of thousands of doses which would be distributed among their employees and family members, according to a reports thanhnien.vn. Dat Xanh Group, a real estate developer, has also announced plans to fund inoculations for over 7,300 employees working at 68 of its affiliates nationwide. Furthermore, Phu Nhuan Jewelry, one of the country’s leading gold and gem stone firms, has agreed to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for staff members. It has also raised a total of VND270 million in support of the free vaccination campaign for groups of underprivileged people in society, including the poor. Meanwhile, the Canada International School Vietnam has also decided to allocate a fund of VND3 billion for its immunisation campaign in an effort to vaccinate its teachers and staff, as well as the parents of students, providing the conditions allow. Despite this initial interest, the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC), the only agency assigned by the Ministry of Health to receive, preserve, and distribute COVID-19 vaccines domestically, has said due to limited supplies, imported vaccines will be available for priority groups first. Specifically, frontline healthcare workers would be at the head of the queue. Vaccination inoculations will be regulated by the Government, according to a VNVC representative. Vietnam imported its first batch of more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on February 24. The Ministry of Health (MoH) subsequently published a list of 11 groups of people that will benefit from the vaccination campaign, with priority to be given to frontline healthcare workers, soldiers, border forces, policemen, and those on duty in isolation areas and quarantine facilities. The MoH is currently considering licensing two additional COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna of the United States and Generium of …

[Read more...] about Local firms keen on purchase of COVID-19 vaccines

Thirty-five volunteers in Hanoi and 38 in southern Long An Province were divided into four groups for the second phase of human trials of Nanocovax, a Vietnamese Covid-19 vaccine produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC. Groups would be injected with placebos, as well as 25 microgram, 50 microgram and 75 microgram doses each. Volunteers would not know which type of shot they received. Following their shots, all volunteers would be monitored for 60 minutes. Afterwards, they would be medically monitored by local authorities at home. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited the site Friday morning, saying Vietnam is doing its best to hasten progress for a Covid-19 vaccine while still ensuring the process adheres to the highest standards. Nhu, 36 and a teacher, was one of the first Covid-19 vaccine trial volunteers during the first phase commenced last year. She said her health so far has been very good, and she has formed a Facebook group to counsel those who wish to participate in the trial's second phase. Nhu participated in the second phase Friday too. "I'm the evidence to prove the success of the trial vaccine, and I'm very proud," she said. Dan, 63, said she had known of the vaccine trials weeks ago. After much consideration, she signed up to participate in the second phase. "At my age, there could be risks and complications if I’m infected. As such, I want to take active care of my health and joined this phase of vaccine trials," she said, adding she would recommend her neighbors as well. Another 52-year-old man in Long An said he had "absolute trust" in the Vietnamese Covid-19 vaccine. He had arrived at the injection site at 7 a.m. for his shot. "I'm not worried at all; instead I feel happy and proud to contribute to our medical field," he said. A total 560 people in Hanoi and Long An would be involved in the second phase of the Nanocovax human trials, in collaboration with Vietnam Military Medical University and HCMC Pasteur …

[Read more...] about Vietnam enters second phase of Covid-19 vaccine trials