France donates 670,080 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Vietnam

France donates 670,080 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Vietnam through COVAX

The Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted information from the French Embassy in Hanoi as saying that these vaccines will be transported and handed over to Vietnam as soon as possible, expected at the end of August, or early September to serve the fight against COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam.

This support of the French Government demonstrates France's solidarity with Vietnam, and also responds to the proposals made during high-level talks between the leaders of France and Vietnam.

Initiated by the World Health Organization in April 2020 and supported by the European Union (EU), the COVAX facilityaims to facilitate equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. More than 156 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to beneficiary countries within the framework of this program, including Vietnam since April 2021.

To speed up COVAX vaccination campaigns in the most vulnerable countries, France has pledged to share 60 million vaccine doses in 2021, excluding financial contributions to this program. Initially, France's support focused mainly on African countries, since then these support have been extended to more than 92 countries within the framework of the AMC beneficiary countries of the COVAX facility.