Agency Report
Japan has promised to donate one million AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Vietnam, Vietnamese state media said this on Tuesday.
Japanese ambassador to Vietnam, Yamada Takio, delivered the message on behalf of Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide to Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
He said Japan will donate one million COVID-19 vaccine doses produced in Japan under a license from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.Takio said that the vaccine doses are expected to arrive on Wednesday, while the country also pledged 1.7 million dollars in aid for fighting the pandemic.
Chinh expressed gratitude to Japan for the support and asked for further assistance in transferring the doses.
In April, Vietnamese became the second-largest foreign-born population in Japan, overtaking South Koreans.
Chinh called on Japan to provide security to the thousands of Vietnamese who have travelled to Japan to work, many of whom are facing hardships due to the pandemic.
Vietnam has been praised for its response to the pandemic after a month without any community transmission of the virus.
Local transmissions emerged again on April 27, with over 7,000 cases reported since then.
Vietnam, a country of over 96 million, said it expects to receive 120 million vaccine doses in 2021.
About 39 million of the vaccines will be provided through the World Health Organisation’s COVAX initiative.
