HANOI • The United States is considering giving more coronavirus vaccines to Vietnam, its ambassador to Washington said yesterday, as the country struggles to control outbreaks of the fast-spreading Delta variant of the virus.
After successfully containing the virus for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has been facing rapid fresh outbreaks of infections since late April, with daily cases repeatedly hitting new highs.
Vietnam took delivery of a shipment of three million Moderna doses from the US yesterday, bringing the amount given by Washington, via the global Covax vaccine scheme, to five million doses.
"The US side has said it is also considering more vaccine donations to Vietnam soon," ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc said in a speech posted on a government website.
Vietnam is also in talks with the US on domestic production of mRNA vaccines, its foreign ministry said last Thursday, adding that production could begin in the fourth quarter this year or early next year.
The ministry did not identify the US and Vietnamese companies involved in the talks.
State media reported yesterday that Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup was in talks with San Diego-headquartered Arcturus Therapeutics on mRNA vaccine production.
Clinical trials could begin in Vietnam next month, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported, adding that the firms could produce 100 million to 200 million doses a year under such a deal.
Vingroup and Arcturus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The health ministry reported 7,531 infections yesterday, just down from Saturday's record daily increase of 7,968. In all, Vietnam has recorded more than 98,000 infections and at least 370 deaths, mostly in the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring provinces.
Ho Chi Minh City will, from today, impose a curfew prohibiting people from going out between 6pm and 6am. The decision came as the city posts thousands of new cases each day despite going through 17 days of social distancing restrictions, VnExpress online newspaper reported.
REUTERS
