A vaccine production line at the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals. Vietnam seeks to build a Covid-19 vaccine plant - PHOTO: NDO

HCMC – The Ministry of Health has proposed joining the global Covid-19 vaccine technology transfer and supply process by building a Covid-19 vaccine factory in Vietnam.

At an online meeting with Covax Facility on May 31, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said Vietnam was enhancing the purchase and receipt of Covid-19 vaccine production technologies to take the initiative in providing Covid-19 vaccines to its population, news site VnExpress reported.

Vietnam will invest in the factory and wishes to franchise the vaccine production to supply vaccines to Covax, other countries and Vietnam, Long added.

Vietnam highly evaluated the initiative of vaccine alliance GAVI and the World Health Organization for establishing the Covax Facility to supply two billion Covid-19 vaccine doses this year, ensuring equitable and fair vaccine access for all countries and territories.

Long said this was an opportunity for all low-income countries to access Covid-19 vaccines.

Vietnam has received nearly 2.6 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from Covax Facility among the 38.9 million doses that it had pledged to provide to Vietnam this year.

Vietnam has accelerated the vaccination for its frontline workers.

However, the pandemic is showing more complicated developments with the appearance of more dangerous variants and the number of new cases in industrial parks and in the community has surged.

Therefore, Vietnam expects Covax Facility to speed up the vaccine supply and add more kinds of Covid-19 vaccines and international organizations and other countries worldwide to continue supporting Vietnam in accessing the Covid-19 vaccines.

Vietnam will contribute US$500,000 to Covax, demonstrating its high evaluation of the initiative and its commitment to continue taking part in the program.