So said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang during a ceremony held on October 4 to symbolically receive 1.5 million doses of of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility with the assistance from the US Government.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang (centre) symbolically receives 1.5 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility with the assistance from the US Government. (Photo: VNA)
Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang thanked the COVAX Facility and the US Government and people for their timely support as Vietnam is accelerating its COVID-19 vaccine inoculation drive. “The assistance has helped Vietnam effectively control the pandemic and safely adapt to the new normal period,” he said, adding that COVAX has remained a major provider of COVID-19 vaccines for Vietnam, supplying the country with a total of 14 million doses so far; while the US has been COVAX’s top vaccine donor, and Vietnam’s largest supplier with 7.5 million doses.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister highly appreciated the effective support of United Nations organizations, especially the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, and the US side in medical supplies, improving human Vietnam's health forces in disease prevention and control and look forward to continuing to receive this important support as well as advice in the process of economic and social recovery and development in the upcoming time.
On behalf of United Nations organizations, Dr. Kidong Park thanked the sponsors of the COVAX Facility and appreciated Vietnam's efforts in promoting the vaccination strategy, especially for priority groups and at regions with the highest number of COVID-19 cases. He emphasized the need to continue focusing on “5K + vaccines” program after the resumption of economic activities. Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative, affirmed that she will continue to support Vietnam, including sending children to school and dealing with social issues.
During the ceremony, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers, pledged to continue providing support for Vietnam, especially in taking students back to school and tackling social issues.
For his part, Christopher Klein, Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Vietnam, also affirmed that the US Government will continue assisting Vietnam and other countries in overcoming the pandemic and building back better./.