Vietnam calls for faster COVID-19 vaccine rollout before shots expire
April 16, 2021, 8:46 am

Vietnam calls for faster COVID-19 vaccine rollout before shots expire

A Health Ministry official checks documents on a container carrying the first shipment of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine doses, as part of the UN global Covax programme, as it arrives at the Noi Bai International Airport Cargo terminal in Hanoi on April 1, 2021. (File photo: AFP)

Vietnam’s health ministry called for the acceleration of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Friday as the expiry date of the Southeast Asian country’s first batch of jabs supplied through the COVAX scheme fast approaches.

Since it began its vaccination program last month, Vietnam has inoculated around 73,000 people despite receiving nearly one million AstraZeneca doses, 800,000 of which were obtained via the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme.

“The (AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccine has a shelf life of 6 months but the batch delivered to Vietnam on April 1 under the COVAX scheme only has two months left till expiration,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

“We have to speed up the inoculation. It is not acceptable that a single dose of the vaccine is thrown out because of a failure in the rollout,” the statement added.

The health ministry requested all 19 localities which have started vaccine programs to finish no later than May 5, 26 days before the vaccines expire.

Vietnam has been praised globally for its record containing the virus through targeted mass testing and a strict, centralized quarantine program.

The country has kept its tally of cases to 2,800, and reported only 35 deaths since the pandemic began. Authorities are aiming to immunize 70 percent of Vietnam’s population and are seeking to obtain a total of 150 million vaccine doses through direct purchases and via COVAX.

The health ministry said Vietnam had carried out its vaccination campaign at a higher safety level than the World Health Organization’s recommendation but that safety should not be the reason for a slow vaccine rollout.

The ministry did not immediately respond to emailed questions from Reuters regarding the slow progress of the program.

Four Vietnamese companies are engaged in vaccine research and production, two of which are at the human trial stage.

source: Reuters

Image source: AFP

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”