A man gets a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine in HCMC. The Health Ministry has allowed HCMC to use one million doses of China’s vaccine - PHOTO: NLDO

HCMC - Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong has written to HCMC allowing the city to use one million doses of the Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine Vero Cell.

The quality of the one million doses of Vero Cell, which the Saigon Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Sapharco) imported into Vietnam through the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC on July 31, was verified by the National Institute for Control of Vaccine and Biologicals.

Based on the ministry’s approval for emergency use of the Vero Cell vaccine and Sapharco’s proposal to import the Vero Cell vaccine to speed up the vaccination campaign, the ministry gave the nod to Sapharco to buy five million doses of China’s vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

The one million doses were part of the deal of five million doses between Sapharco and Sinopharm that have been donated to HCMC by Van Thinh Phat Group, the local media reported.

The Vero Cell vaccine is produced by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd. The Chinese vaccine has been used by 59 countries worldwide and was approved for emergency use by the Ministry of Health in early June.