World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Vietnam Kidong Park has said the Vaccine Alliance wants to invite Vietnam to join in research and production of vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.
During a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control Vu Duc Dam in Hanoi on June 30, Park said the vaccine is expected to be available in late 2021.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading complicatedly worldwide with nearly 10.4 million infections and over 507,000 deaths. On average, there are about 150,000 new cases and more than 4,000 fatalities each day. Notably, there is not any vaccine or medicine for treatment.
Related: The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Vietnam reduces to 11
About the reopening of border gates and resumption of international flights with several countries and territories, experts warned that as the pandemic lingers, countries should carefully consider this decision.
Park said the WHO has recommended giving priority to necessary travel, considering monitoring capacity of each nation at border gates, public response and economic resilience.
Regarding vaccine production, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said two Vietnamese units are piloting anti-COVID-19 vaccine on mice. In the near future, it will be experimented on primates and humans.
He expects that the WHO and international organizations will help step up vaccine production in the country.
Deputy PM Vo Duc Dam, for his part, said Vietnam is willing to partner with the world in epidemic prevention and control. The country is now mastering technology to produce four kinds of test kits with high efficiency and reasonable costs, he said.
He hopes that the WHO and international organizations will help popularize such products worldwide, towards driving back the pandemic.
Reporting by The People