Some 200,000 doses of Vero-Cell vaccine and 201,600 disposable syringes gifted by the Chinese defense ministry to its Vietnamese peer arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on August 23.

At the event, the Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, Xiong Bo, handed over the Covid-19 vaccine and the syringes to Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defence.

The Chinese ambassador said that the gift represents the sentiment of the Chinese military and government to the armed forces and people of Vietnam.

Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo hands over 200,000 doses of Vero-Cell Covid-19 vaccine to Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (right), Vietnam’s deputy minister of National Defense, at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: VNA

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Chien thanked the Chinese side for the timely support, highlighting the practical meaning of the gift amid the complicated developments of the pandemic in Vietnam.

Earlier, on June 20, a Chinese donation of 500,000 Vero-Cell vaccine doses arrived in Vietnam. 

Vero-Cell vaccine, produced by Sinopharm Co.Ltd, has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and used in more than 70 countries, including those in Southeast Asia such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The country has approved four Covid-19 vaccines so far, including AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Vero Cell, Moderna, Janssen, and Pfizer.

Vietnam's domestic inoculation program, which started in March, has so far relied heavily on AstraZeneca vaccine.

Vietnam is tackling a more stubborn wave of infections. Its latest outbreak, in which the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is dominant, has left 343,973 infections and over 8,250 fatalities since late April.