Vietnamese and Russian representatives at the handover reception of the first batch of Sputnik V vaccines at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

The shipment touched down following the visit by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son to Russia and his meeting with the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

The reception and handover ceremony was held with the participation of the Russian ambassador in Vietnam Gennady Bezdetko, Vietnamese deputy health minister Tran Van Thuan, and heads of local companies – Chairman of VABIOTECH Do Tuan Dat and Vice Director-General of SOVICO Group Dinh Viet Phuong.

VABIOTECH, a pharmaceutical company under the management of the health ministry, is RDIF’s Vietnamese partner of technology transfer, packaging, and producing Sputnik V vaccine in Vietnam as well as the import deal, for a total of 40 million doses until June 2022 in a tripartite agreement between RDIF, SOVICO, and VABIOTECH.

All vaccines produced in Vietnam would be used in the free immunisation programme against COVID-19.

In his speech, the Russian Ambassador to Vietnam called the fight against the new coronavirus infection one of the priority areas of cooperation between Moscow and Hanoi for the foreseeable future.

“I hope that cooperation in this area will serve as a guarantee of further advancement of healthcare cooperation between our countries,” Bezdetko said, noting that Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country to establish a production line for the Russian vaccine.

Earlier, Vabiotech announced that the test batch of vaccine it produced has met the approval of the vaccine developer, Gamaleya Research Institute.

The Russian vaccine was approved for emergency use in Vietnam in March, for the donation of a few thousands of Sputnik V as gift from the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev during his trip to Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News 

First Sputnik V vaccine batch successfully produced in Vietnam

The Health Ministry’s Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (Vabiotech) announced on September 24 that it has successfully produced the first batch of Sputnik V vaccine in Vietnam.