Vietnam Prime Minister and AstraZeneca CEO had bilateral telephone conversation today
AstraZeneca delivered another 1,209,400 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam. The delivery is the ninth to Vietnam in total as part of the advance purchase agreement (APA) between AstraZeneca and Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC), with support from the Ministry of Health.
To date, this agreement has brought over 6.7 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to Vietnam. Approximately 14.3 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered into the country through the APA, COVAX Facility and donations from other governments, accounting for nearly 62% of all vaccine supplies in the country.
This afternoon, a bilateral call was also held between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the CEO of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot. Beyond vaccine access, the two sides also discussed the progress of AstraZeneca’s health system sustainability programmes in Vietnam, as part of the company’s efforts to address both infectious and non-communicable diseases and contribute holistically to the country.
Mr. Nitin Kapoor, Chairman and General Director, AstraZeneca Vietnam and Asia Area Frontier Markets said: “We were grateful to have the opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister today, following our meeting in late June. In response to his request for accelerated vaccine deliveries amidst this complicated COVID-19 outbreak, AstraZeneca has stepped up our supply to Vietnam since July to support the government’s national vaccination programme. We will continue to partner with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization, UNICEF and VNVC to deliver our vaccine to Vietnam as quickly as possible so that local communities can soon reunite with their families and return to their normal life.”
To date, AstraZeneca has released for supply more than one billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, to more than 170 countries around the world at no profit.
AstraZeneca’s commitment to support broad and equitable vaccine access worldwide is reflected in its contributions to COVAX. The Company was the first global pharmaceutical company to join the global initiative in June 2020, and has delivered more than 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility to date.
Since the first international launches in early 2021, the vaccine has helped to prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and saved tens of thousands of lives.1 The vaccine is generally well tolerated and around 80%-90% effective against severe disease and hospitalisation. The vaccine is highly effective against all variants of concern, including Beta and Delta.2,3
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was the first to be authorised for and used in the Vietnamese Government’s national vaccination programme. Globally, the vaccine has been granted a conditional marketing authorisation or emergency use in more than 80 countries across six continents.
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca
The COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, (ChAdOx1-S [Recombinant]), formerly AZD1222, was co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech. It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on Twitter @AstraZeneca.
References
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-vaccines-have-prevented-7-2-million-infections-and-27-000-deaths. Published 28 Jun 2021 Accessed 06 Aug 2021.
2 Voysey, M, et al., (2021) Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK. The Lancet, 397: 99-111. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32661-1/fulltext
3 Nasreen S, (2021) Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against variants of concern in Ontario, Canada. MedRxiv Online: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.28.21259420v2
Press release distributed by EloQ Communications