As part of its program to contain Covid-19, Vietnam has approved for emergency use a Chinese vaccine produced in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On Friday, Vietnam approved Hayat-Vax, the seventh coronavirus vaccine to be endorsed in the country, which was registered by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention in December 2020.
The name Hayat is Arabic for ‘life’ and the shots are the first locally manufactured vaccines to come from the Gulf region as part of a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s G42 technology group and the Chinese drugs firm Sinopharm.
Also approved for emergency use in Vietnam are jabs produced by AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, as well as Russia’s Sputnik V.
At the 7th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit on Thursday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked “manufacturing countries, including China” for their help in his nation’s battle against Covid.
“Your support is invaluable amid the global vaccine shortage. I look forward to the continuation of such effort,” said the PM.
Chinh called for greater cooperation between the GMS region and Vietnam’s partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes China. He said closer ties would deliver “tangible benefits” to both people and businesses, and contribute to the development of each nation, the region, and the world.
Vietnam has seen a surge in Covid cases in September, particularly in its capital, Hanoi. Only 3.9% of its population is currently fully vaccinated, and it has so far received only 20% of the vaccines required to meet national demand, according to the Ministry of Health. There have been more than 500,000 confirmed cases and 14,000 Covid-related deaths in the country since the pandemic began in March 2020.
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