HCMC – Russia has agreed to supply 20 million doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine to Vietnam this year, while the country is seeking to secure its Covid-19 vaccine production technology transfer, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.
Speaking at a meeting with the Russian Direct Investment Fund on June 2, Minister Long said that the Ministry of Health approved the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in March.
In August last year, Vietnam wrote to Russia seeking to buy the vaccine, but failed to do so due to its short supply, Long said.
Until now, Russia has approved supplying the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine to Vietnam in 2021, the local media reported.
This is a result of nonstop negotiations, Long said.
Besides, to ensure the security of the Covid-19 vaccine in the following years, the ministry considered the importance of cooperation over vaccine production and technology transfer. As such, the ministry assigned its units to promptly negotiate with the partner over the transfer.
Over the past few months, the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1, under the Ministry of Health, has cooperated with the Russian side and is set to start processing Russia’s vaccine in July, with a capacity of five million doses per month. This will be such an important result that Russia can transfer its Covid-19 vaccine production technology to Vietnam, Long said.
The ministry also told its units and firms to closely work with the Russian side to secure its technology transfer to establish a major Covid-19 vaccine production plant in Vietnam.
Long said that the Russian side threw its support behind Vietnam’s proposal at the meeting.
Apart from Russia’s vaccine, the ministry is continuing to negotiate with other global drugmakers and organizations, including COVAX, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, to access their vaccines.
Aside from the planned supply of 38.9 million doses from the COVAX Facility, Vietnam also signed a deal with Pfizer/BioNTech to buy 31 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. In November last year, the country negotiated with AstraZeneca and cut a deal to buy some 30 million doses of its vaccine.
With the Covid-19 vaccine supply from Russia, the United States and Britain, Vietnam is moving toward procuring 150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021 to vaccinate 75% of the country’s population in line with the Government’s directive, Long added.
