Vietnam on September 29 received 740,000 doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health.

This batch of vaccines has arrived in Hanoi and handed over to VABIOTECH, one of Vietnam’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

This is also the first batch of Sputnik V vaccine Vietnam has received after a visit to Russia by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on September 27 who met with the leader of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Sputnik V research sponsor.

Vietnam has just received 740,000 doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. Photo: VNA

Under the clinical trials, the Sputnik V vaccine was 91.6% effective. For volunteers over 60 years old, the rate is 91.8%. After the injection, the vaccine triggered antibody response 98% in all the volunteers.

The vaccine is developed by Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute and has been licensed for use in 70 countries and territories so far, with a total population of over 3.7 billion, which is nearly half of the global population.

Vietnam greenlighted the use of the Sputnik V vaccine on March 23 after doing the same for the one made by AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm in collaboration with Oxford University.

VABIOTECH on September 24 announced the successful production of a batch of the Sputnik V vaccine. President of VABIOTECH Do Tuan Dat hoped that his firm will provide quality and affordable Covid-19 vaccines to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

The made-in-Vietnam Sputnik V vaccine and the above-mentioned 740,000 doses will be used in the national immunization program.

Vietnam is set to get 20 million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from Russia this year, the government said on September 4. The statement came after a meeting in Hanoi between Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexei Krivoruchko.

Vietnam targets to have 150 million doses this year to vaccinate 75% of its population.

The country has recorded 766,108 Covid-19 infections as of September 29 and nearly 20,000 deaths overall.