To acquire COVID-19 vaccines for people as soon as possible, the Government is encouraging and creating conditions for all capable localities and enterprises to join in the task, Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong said on June 3.
Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong (standing) speaks at the Government's press conference on June 3 (Photo: VNA)– To acquire
COVID-19 vaccines for people as soon as possible, the Government is encouraging
and creating conditions for all capable localities and enterprises to join in
the task, Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong said on June 3.
Speaking at the Government’s monthly press conference, Cuong noted that under the Politburo and Government’s resolutions, the
Ministry of Health (MoH) is tasked with importing 150 million vaccine doses to
vaccinate about 70 percent of the population aged 18 and above.
He said Vietnam is one of the
countries seeking access to vaccines very early, but it has not been given priority since
supply is unable to meet demand and the COVID-19 situation in some
countries is developing complicatedly.
Though Vietnam has ordered
about 170 million vaccine doses, delayed or insufficient delivery could happen,
the official went on.
Regarding the funding for
vaccine procurement, Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan said
the MoH estimated the costs of vaccine purchase and injection at about 25 trillion
VND (1.1 billion USD). The Party and State’s viewpoint is that the State budget
and legal funding sources in society will be used to buy and administer
vaccines.
He added enterprises of all
economic sectors, from foreign invested to private ones, have shown strong
support for the COVID-19 vaccine fund.
As of late June 3, Vietnam reported 8,063 cases of COVID-19,
with 4,955 domestic infections recorded since April 27, when the ongoing
outbreak began. The number of recoveries stood
at 3,085 while the death toll was 49./.