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A bottle with a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from AstraZeneca seen in this illustrative photo taken on March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Japan will send one million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday, as the Southeast Asian country ramps up purchases of the vaccine to fight a more complex wave of infections.
Vietnam has a population of about 98 million, the number of infections in Vietnam is 10,241, and only 58 deaths, since the pandemic began. Read more
Motegi told reporters that a shipment of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L) vaccines produced in Japan will arrive in Vietnam on Wednesday.
Motegi added that Japan is considering giving additional vaccines to Vietnam and Taiwan, and is planning similar shipments to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand starting in early July.
Taiwan received 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca from Japan this month to counter a resurgence of cases at the local level. Her government thanked Japan on Tuesday for considering additional aid. Read more
“We will continue to maintain close contact with the Japanese side and look forward to the smooth arrival of vaccines to Taiwan as soon as possible,” the island’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Japan has pledged $1 billion and 30 million doses to the COVAX facility, which provides vaccines to countries in need. But Motegi said shipments to Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian neighbors are taking place outside COVAX to speed up delivery.
“If we go through an international organization, the approval process may take time,” he said.
Japan has contracted to purchase 120 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it approved last month. But there are no immediate plans to use it at home, as concerns remain about international reports of blood clots. Read more
Taiwan has millions of doses needed worldwide, but a shortage of supplies has led to delays in receiving them, with only about 4% of the population of 23.5 million receiving at least one dose while fighting the surge.
With only 132 new cases reported on Tuesday, the island is gradually working to bring the local outbreak under control.
“The general trend seems to be going in a better direction, but we still can’t relax,” Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said in the capital, Taipei.
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