Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam answers questions raised by reporters regarding his health after taking two shots of homegrown Nanocovax vaccine, which is under second phase of human trials. Photo: Internet

Dam, who is Head of the National Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control got the second jab of Nanocovax on March 26.

He said that he did not hesitate to join the human trials of the vaccine being developed by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC.

Viet Nam began the first phase of human trials of Nanocovax on eligible volunteers under the aged of 50 since December 2020 and the second phase started on February 26 with 73 volunteers.

Though Viet Nam expects to accelerate human trial process so that it can start manufacturing its own vaccine by the end of the third quarter this year but Deputy PM Dam said he is not sure when the homegrown vaccine would be available.

He called on people to continue serious implementation of the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: Khau trang (facemask) – Khu khuan (disinfection) – Khoang cach (distance) – Khong tu tap (no gathering) – Khai bao y te (health declaration).

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam receives the second shot of Nanocovax on March 26, 2021

This year, the Government seeks to have 150 million vaccine doses through various sources, including homegrown vaccines, to cover 70% of the population.

A part from speeding up research and development of local vaccines, Viet Nam has moved to diversify sources of COVID-19 vaccines by working with foreign countries such as the U.S., India, and China to secure supply for its national vaccination program, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang at a press briefing last week.

On February 24, Viet Nam received the first batch of 117,600 COVID-19 vaccine doses, allowing the country to kick-start the first wave of vaccination for front liners , including health workers and staff working at concentrated quarantine sites.

This morning, the first tranche of 811,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through COVAX Facility - a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO, arrived in Ha Noi.