HCMC – The Government of Italy has decided to donate 801,600 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Vietnam via the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh earlier wrote to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi suggesting that the Italian Government provide Vietnam with Covid-19 vaccine support.
The vaccines are expected to arrive in Vietnam in early September, according to the Government’s news portal.
In the context of the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese Government has identified vaccination as a high priority and is trying to access more sources of Covid-19 vaccine.
The vaccine donation from Italy shows the unity between the governments and peoples of the two countries during this difficult time and illustrates the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Italy.
Italy is the European Union’s fourth biggest donor to the global vaccine access mechanism, Covax Facility. The country pledged to give 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and US$359 million to the mechanism without geographical preference.
Covax Facility is a global initiative led by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and others. Its mission is to coordinate international resources to enable the equitable access of Covid-19 diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
As a development partner of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose members include Vietnam, Italy has committed to contributing an additional US$2 million to ASEAN’s fund to prepare and respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
