The U.S. has just delivered two more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shipments to Vietnam, bringing its total donations to the Southeast Asian country to nearly 8.5 million doses.

The latest batch of 397,800 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Hanoi on Friday morning, while the previous shipment of 608,400 jabs reached Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, the U.S. Consulate General said on its verified Facebook page on Friday.

“This delivery is the example of our commitment to Vietnam in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic. And more is on the way in a few days!” the diplomatic agency said.

Regarding Thursday’s shipment, the page read: “The U.S. is committed to working with our friends in Vietnam to help end the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for more good news.”

Before these two batches, the U.S. gifted Vietnam a total of nearly 7.5 million Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses in four deliveries.

Acting U.S. Consul General Robert Greenan has recently handed over 30 USAID-donated oxygen concentrators to Blue Sky Social Enterprise, a community-based organization working on HIV, the U.S. Consulate General reported on its Facebook account on Wednesday.

“This life-saving equipment enables families to provide COVID-19 care at home," the agency said.

"We are proud to stand with Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19."

The U.S. has committed more than US$26.7 million in related assistance to Vietnam since the start of the pandemic.

Vietnam has received COVID-19 vaccine donations from many other countries, including Japan, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Russia, the Czech Republic, and China, among others.

The nation aims to secure 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to cover two-thirds of its 98-million population, and it has so far got over 61 million jabs from different sources, including COVAX, contractual purchases, and donations.

Vietnam’s Nano Covax vaccine candidate is undergoing the procedures to be authorized for emergency use, having gone through successful trials.

By Thursday evening, the country had administered around 49 million coronavirus vaccine doses to people nationwide, including 36 million first shots and 13 million second jabs, the Ministry of Health reported.

Since the pandemic erupted in Vietnam in early 2020, the Southeast Asian country has documented 826,837 COVID-19 cases, including 758,488 recoveries and 20,223 deaths, in 62 out of the country’s 63 cities and provinces.

The only locality staying free from the coronavirus is Cao Bang Province, where measures to prevent virus penetration have been strictly applied.

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