HCMC – Major local conglomerate Vingroup will present the Ministry of Health with 500,000 vials of Remdesivir, a Covid-19 antiviral.
The first batch with 105,000 vials will arrive in HCMC before August 5 to serve the Covid-19 treatment in the city. The remaining will also be handed over this month, the local media reported.
The Ministry of Health will assess the antiviral and approve it for use at all Covid-19 treatment hospitals nationwide.
To meet the urgent demand in HCMC, Vingroup is negotiating with charter flights to transport the antiviral to Vietnam.
Remdesivir is produced by India’s pharmaceutical company Cipla and licensed by the United States’ research-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It was approved to be used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2020.
It helps shorten the treatment period and helps critical patients to recover faster. Remdesivir has been used by 50 countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, Singapore and India.
It is used for treating Covid-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms according to the Covid-19 treatment protocol set out by the Ministry of Health. The 500,000 vials are expected to treat 80,000 to 100,000 patients.
As the Covid-19 pandemic has been raging, especially in HCMC and other southern localities, the import of 500,000 vials of Remdesivir will contribute to the treatment of Covid-19 patients, especially the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, a Vingroup representative said.
