A woman in HCMC is vaccinated against Covid-19. More than one million AstraZeneca vaccine doses arrived in Vietnam today, August 13 - PHOTO: TNO

HCMC – Two more batches including over one million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, as part of the 30 million doses ordered by the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC), arrived in Vietnam this morning, August 13.

Speaking at a meeting on August 12, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said in August and September, more than 12 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines would be handed over to Vietnam, including over 10 million AstraZeneca doses and some two million Pfizer doses, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.

Of the total, there will be 670,000 doses presented by France through the COVAX Facility. According to the Ministry of Health, these batches will arrive in Vietnam in late August or early September.

In addition, Hungary has announced it will donate 100,000 vaccine doses and 100,000 test kits to Vietnam to tackle the pandemic.

In related news, two more Covid-19 treatment hospitals in HCMC and Binh Duong were put into operation on August 12. The hospital in Binh Duong has 437 beds and has medical workers from the Hanoi Medical University Hospital and three other hospitals.

Meanwhile, the field hospital in HCMC’s Phu Nhuan District has 350 beds.

Binh Duong is currently the country’s second largest pandemic hotspot. With the new emergency and recuperation facility, doctors will focus on treating critical patients to minimize the number of Covid-19 deaths.

Professor Dr Nguyen Lan Hieu, director of the Hanoi Medical University Hospital, said medical workers of the hospital would stay in Binh Duong until the pandemic is brought under control.