Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang (centre) symbolically receives 1.5 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility with the assistance from the US Government on October 4. (

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a ceremony in Hanoi on October 4 to symbolically receive 1.5 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility with the assistance from the US Government.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang thanked the COVAX Facility and the US Government and people for their timely support as Vietnam is accelerating its COVID-19 vaccine inoculation drive.

The assistance has helped Vietnam effectively control the pandemic and safely adapt to the “new normal,” he said, adding that COVAX has remained a major provider of COVID-19 vaccines for Vietnam, supplying the country with a total of 14 million doses so far; while the US has been COVAX’s top vaccine donor, and Vietnam’s largest supplier with 7.5 million doses.

He also highly appreciated the effective support from UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the US in medical supplies and capacity building for Vietnamese health workers, saying Vietnam wishes to continue receiving such important assistance as well as consultancy for its post-pandemic recovery and socio-economic development in the coming time.

On behalf of the UN agencies, WHO Representative in Vietnam Dr. Kidong Park expressed his gratitude towards COVAX donors and highly spoke of Vietnam’s efforts to speed up vaccinations against COVID-19, particularly for priority groups and in most-affected cities and provinces.

Park emphasised the need for Vietnam to further promote the “5K + vaccine” principle when the country resumes economic activities.

UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers, for her part, pledged to continue providing support for Vietnam, especially in taking students back to school and tackling social issues.

Christopher Klein, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Vietnam, also affirmed that the US Government will continue assisting Vietnam and other countries in overcoming the pandemic and building back better./.

Source: VNA