Vietnam has injected 90 percent of its adult population with two COVID-19 vaccine doses and achieved one of the highest vaccination coverage rates in the world to protect its people, including the poorest and the most vulnerable, said WHO and UNICEF representatives.

Vietnam sets an example to the world when it comes to COVID-19 pandemic combat and vaccination, Rana Flowers, Acting United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Vietnam and Chief Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam, said at the COVID-19 Vaccine Appreciation Ceremony held in Hanoi on Monday. 

The event, jointly organized by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN in Vietnam, welcomed representatives from UN organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO), foreign embassies, and vaccine producers in Vietnam.

The Southeast Asian country has reached an inoculation rate among the highest globally to protect even the poorest and most vulnerable, Flowers remarked.

She affirmed that UNICEF and UN organizations will continue to support Vietnam in vaccine supply and production in order to bring a better life to Vietnamese, especially women and children. 

In his recorded remarks sent to the event, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Vietnam is among the countries that have successfully contained the pandemic.

He congratulated Vietnam on having vaccinated 90 percent of its adult population and over 75 percent of its total inhabitants, becoming one of the countries with the highest vaccination coverage rates in the world. 

Vietnam is an example of vaccination success based on its political determination, national efforts, and international support, he said.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked foreign countries and organizations for their timely and valuable support for Vietnam’s fight against COVID-19 over the past two years.

Stressing the significance of vaccines in the pandemic fight, PM Chinh said the Vietnamese government has stepped up vaccine diplomacy, established a vaccine fund, boosted the import, research and transfer of vaccine production technologies, and launched the biggest-ever vaccination campaign.

Along with other epidemic prevention measures, vaccine has been the safest ‘shield’ for people to prevent and combat the coronavirus, the head of government said.

Nearly 40 percent of the vaccines Vietnam has received came through the COVAX Facility, PM Chinh said, noting that more than 30 countries have provided the jabs for Vietnam via the vaccine-sharing mechanism and bilateral channels, significantly speeding up the country's roll-out of its vaccine strategy and immunization campaign, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

He also called for more assistance from various countries and organizations in vaccine provision, especially jabs against new variants and those for children aged from five to under 12.

With its high vaccination coverage, Vietnam has recently seen hospitalizations as well as severe cases and fatalities falling, the government leader said.

Vietnam has reopened the economy in the strategy of safely and flexibly living with the COVID-19 pandemic since October, and saw its gross domestic product in the last quarter of 2021 jump 5.22 percent year on year to reach an overall growth rate of 2.58 percent for last year.

The Southeast Asian country has resumed international commercial flights since February 15, and is about to fully open its doors to international travelers from mid-March, he told the event.

As a trustworthy partner and a responsible member of the international community, Vietnam backs global cooperation in the pandemic combat and has provided support for many countries in their COVID-19 fight, while contributing to the COVAX Facility and the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the PM said.

Vietnam has so far received nearly 222 million doses of vaccines from different sources, including the COVAX Facility, contractual purchases and donations, the Ministry of Health reported.

Health workers have administered 183,322,407 vaccine doses to the country’s adult population, including 70,910,444 first shots, 67,816,092 second jabs, and the rest for additional primary doses and boosters, the ministry’s data shows.

For children of 12 to 17 years old, 8,748,687 first shots and 8,297,355 second doses have been given to them nationwide.

Vietnam has documented 6,377,438 COVID-19 infections, with 3,271,978 recoveries and 41,477 fatalities since the pandemic erupted in the country in early 2020, the ministry said.

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