A Vietnamese company - Vabiotech - will become part of the production process of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine beginning this month.

Russia has agreed to provide Vietnam with 20 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V this year, Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said on June 2.

Prof. Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien has been awarded with the title of “Hero of Labour in the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) Period” in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the development of the vaccine industry in Vietnam from 2009 – 2019.

A third COVID-19 vaccine developed by Vietnam is scheduled to be tested on humans at the end of March, the Ministry of Health said on January 19.

Three volunteers getting the first shot of the 25mcg dose of Nanocovax, the first Vietnamese COVID-19 vaccine to be tested on humans, last December received the second on January 14.

The country is expected to market a “Made-in-Vietnam” vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within the next nine to 12 months due to the vaccine research and manufacturing project enjoying strong progress, according to researchers.

Company for Vaccine and Biological Production 1 (VABIOTECH) under the Ministry of Health will conduct a second test of Covid-19 vaccine on mice next month.

Local health experts said that test kits would greatly help Vietnam deal with the situation.