Pfizer Inc. has secured a deal with Vietnam to supply 20 more million vaccine doses which are scheduled to arrive in the country in 2021.

The deal brings the total amount to supply to Vietnam to 51 million doses in total.

Health students of Hanoi Medical University on August 25 depart for HCMC. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

A Pfizer representative said they will continue to work with government agencies and commit to vaccine delivery to help smooth the country’s inoculation campaign, Zing reported.

In another move, Italy on August 25 pledged to donate to Vietnam 801,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX Facility, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Italy made the decision after Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a letter to Italy’s PM Mario Draghi. Italy is current the 4th largest European donor to the global vaccine sharing COVAX Facility with a commitment to donate 15 million vaccine doses and US$359 million. It also pledged to grant $2 million to ASEAN Covid-19 Response Fund.

On August 25, the Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam Cristina Romila attended the handover ceremony of 300,000 vaccine doses to Vietnam.

Top leaders join the pandemic fight

Today PM Chinh decided to add top leaders to the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control, including Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam, Deputy PM Le Minh Khai, Deputy PM Le Van Thanh, and Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh.

The PM chairs the committee that is also joined by the Minister of National Defense and Minister of Public Security, Health Minister, among others.

The committee was established on January 30, 2020, by the prime minister shortly after the pandemic broke out in Vietnam. The committee was chaired by Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam until August 24.

The new structure shows that all the political system including the cabinet, the parliament, and the party joins the pandemic fight.

On August 25, Vietnam sees the highest one-day coronavirus infections at 12,096, with 5,294 in Ho Chi Minh City and 4,129 in Binh Duong while the country’s daily deaths are 335. In total, infections hit 381,363 and deaths reach 9,349.

Today, HCMC saw the first day with daily infections surpassed 5,000.

Notably, the rate of infections detected in the community was high with 84% in HCMC, 78% in Hanoi, and 64% in Danang. The remaining ratio was found in quarantine facilities.

Medical equipment at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi on August 25 before being transported to HCMC. Photo: Vietnam Airlines

Ho Chi Minh City

On August 25, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) supplied the record high of 4,400 blood bags to dozens of cities and provinces nationwide, including 2,000 bags to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

Over the past month, NIHBT has provided 7,350 blood bags to the south, including 5,000 in HCMC.

Over the past two days, HCMC has conducted 500,000 tests thanks to self-testing at home under the support of health workers. Under its plan, the city will take two million tests in three days starting on August 23.

Hanoi

So far, the city has undergone a month of lockdown.

Today, it recorded 96 new cases, including 78% found in the community through testing. Most of the infections were in downtown.

On the day, Chairman of the city People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh requested the local health sector to test all people in hotspots to quickly detect infections.

“The health sector and police need to take actions in contact tracing and isolating the affected areas,” Anh told local authorities in Thanh Xuan District. This district is currently the most affected area in Hanoi.

The local authorities were required to conduct testing of all people in quarantine areas every three days.

Covid-19 cases in Vietnam. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu