Speaking at a ceremony marking the arrival, Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Christopher Klein, said “The shipment gives us hope that there is an end in sight to our fight against COVID-19.  It gives us hope that we will be able to return to our normal lives.”

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A batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the U.S. via Covax arrives at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, July 10, 2021. (Photo by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi)

“The UN welcomes the United States government donation of COVID-19 vaccines via COVAX’s dose-sharing mechanism which arrived in Vietnam today,” said Kamal Malhotra, the UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam.

The United States and Vietnam have built upon our long-standing cooperation and over $1 billion U.S. investment in Vietnam’s health infrastructure to strengthen Vietnam’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition to this vaccine donation, the United States has provided more than $17.7 million in COVID-19 related assistance to Vietnam since the start of the pandemic.

The United States is committed to working with partners across the globe to end the devastating public health and economic effects of this pandemic.  The United States has contributed $2 billion to Gavi in support of COVAX's purchase and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to 92 low- and middle- income countries, making the United States the largest single financial donor supporting COVAX. The U.S. contribution to COVAX is supporting equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations, including frontline health care workers.

In addition to today’s shipment, Vietnam has received 2,493,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX Facility.  The COVAX Facility is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF as key delivery partners.

President Biden also recently announced that the United States would provide 500 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Gavi for distribution by COVAX to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and economies as defined by Gavi’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which includes Vietnam, and the African Union.  President Biden said, “We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions.  We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic.”

Chung Anh