Residents get COVID-19 vaccination. (Photo: VNA)
In a resolution, the Government agreed with the Prime Minister’s approval to choose contractors in buying 19,998,810 doses of the vaccine in line with conditions stated in its decision issued in May.
The Ministry of Health will be responsible for the purchase of the vaccine as soon as possible in an effort to meet the need in COVID-19 prevention and control.
Since February, Vietnam has received more than 16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Of them, over 8.68 million doses were from the COVAX Facility.
Vietnam to compete in “Army of Culture” category at 2021 International Army Games
An art performance by the Vietnamese team at the 2020 International Army Games. (Photo: qdnd.vn)
Vietnam will be among the 19 countries to participate in the “Army of Culture” category, which will make its debut as one of the official contents at the upcoming 2021 International Army Games, reported Nhan Dan newspaper.
Each participating team will feature 12 members, comprising one captain, one member joining the jury board, eight members delivering cultural and artistic performances, and two in charge of exhibition activities.
The contests of the “Army of Culture” category will be carried out in four stages, namely “Vocal skills” (solo and duet), “Dance choreography skills” (single, couple and top dance), “Musical instruments” (solo and duet), and “Exhibition activities”.
The overall ranking of the teams is to be determined by the total score they have won through the four competition stages and the results of the voting on websites and digital platforms. In a case of equal points, the final winning team will be the one which has the most best-performing members in each stage.
At the Army Games, Vietnam’s culture-arts team has always been highly lauded for their excellent performances imbued with Vietnamese national identity. In 2020, impressed by the Vietnamese team’s outstanding performances, host country Russia recommended the Vietnamese team organise a cultural exchange programme within the framework of the Army Games, while contributing a repertoire at the closing ceremony. This year, Vietnam’s “Army of Culture” team has made thorough preparations in terms of both profession and content, aiming towards achieving high results at the 2021 International Army Games.
100 volunteers to receive first shot of ARCT-154 vaccine
As many as 100 Vietnamese volunteers are poised to be given their first shot of the ARCT-154 vaccine on August 15, making it the third locally-produced vaccine against COVID-19 to be trialed, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
100 volunteers will receive first shot of ARCT-154 vaccine (Photo: MoH)
Ahead of receiving their first shot, volunteers must agree to follow the study's procedures and perform at least eight clinical visits in line with the study schedule at the Center for Clinical Pharmacology under the Hanoi Medical University.
Participants will be grouped randomly, in which 75% of volunteers will be injected with ARCT-154, with the remaining 25% being given placebos. They will subsequently receive the second shot after 28 days.
The human clinical trials are scheduled to be carried out in three phases and will feature the participation of 21,000 volunteers, including more than 100 in phase one, 300 in phase two, and 20,600 in phase three.
Furthermore, testing will be carried out on adult volunteers at the Hanoi Medical University, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, and the Vietnam Military Medical University.
According to the Health Ministry, ARCT-154 is a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine that is designed to act against numerous strains of SARS-CoV-2, including the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma variants.
The vaccine has been produced by Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc. of the United States along with Vinbiocare, a unit of Vingroup, the nation’s largest private conglomerate./.