Japan has decided to donate to Vietnam an additional 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, which are expected to be delivered when preparations are complete.

The latest assistance was announced by Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi during a press conference on Friday morning.

The 500,000 doses will bring Japan’s total vaccine donation to Vietnam to 4.08 million shots, according to the Embassy of Japan in Hanoi.

The diplomatic agency praised Vietnam’s efforts in COVID-19 prevention and control, adding that Japan is one of the countries that donate the most vaccine doses to the Southeast Asian country.

A shipment of 400,000 AstraZeneca jabs previously arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on September 25, it added.

Japan is currently the third-largest vaccine donor in the world.

During a virtual conference on COVID-19 response organized by the U.S. on September 22, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged an additional 30 million vaccine doses to aid other countries, bringing Tokyo’s total vaccine donation to 60 million doses.

Vietnam had documented 853,842 COVID-19 cases as of Friday afternoon, with 788,005 recoveries and 20,950 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Over 57.4 million vaccine doses have been administered since inoculation was rolled out on March 8.

More than 16.8 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Health authorities target to inoculate at least two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the first quarter of next year.

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