More COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive In Struggling Ho Chi Minh City

A total of 659,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines were delivered to Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, as the southern metropolis grapples with rising COVID-19 cases and fatalities.

This is the sixth shipment of vaccines as part of a deal for 30 million doses entered by Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company, AstraZeneca and the MoH. The first doses of vaccines arrived in late February, and were used in Vietnam’s historic vaccination campaign. 

Ho Chi Minh City, the bustling commercial hub of Vietnam, currently accounts for most cases, with 78,904 out of the total 123,640 cases.

As the government strives to inoculate as many people in the worst-hit city, the MoH has expressed their appreciation to the efforts of AstraZeneca and other parties to increase vaccine supply amidst global shortage and production delays.

This month alone, Vietnam has received four AstraZeneca vaccine shipments, with the largest one — 1,228,500 doses — delivered on July 23.

So far, the country has already acquired 15 million doses of vaccines, mostly from donations and more than 3.5 million from purchase orders.

Aside from AstraZeneca, Vietnam is also using Moderna, Sinopharm and Sputnik V in its current vaccination drive. To date, more than 5 million doses have been administered, with nearly half a million people having received full two doses.

More vaccines are expected to arrive in Vietnam in the coming weeks, with different governments and organizations pledging to assist in curbing the country’s worst outbreak.