Vietnam has registered to buy the Russian coronavirus vaccine „Sputnik V“. In the meantime, the Southeast Asian country will continue to work on developing its own vaccine, state television reported today, citing the Ministry of Health in Hanoi. It is unclear whether Vietnam has only registered the purchase of a small number of vaccine doses or whether there is a larger order for a large-scale vaccination campaign.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that the vaccine „Sputnik V“ had been approved for widespread use in the population. It took place before the results of phase III studies were available – a procedure that has sparked a lot of criticism internationally.
Nevertheless, there are already those interested in the drug: The Brazilian state of Parana has announced that it will conclude an agreement with Russia to produce the vaccine itself. The United Arab Emirates and Israel should also be interested.
Vietnam has long been considered successful in the fight against the pandemic and has been repeatedly praised by the World Health Organization (WHO). After months without new local infections, there was a new outbreak in the coastal city of Da Nang in late July. Since then, the number of new infections has risen rapidly, and the country has seen its first Covid-19-related deaths. Today the number of confirmed cases was 911, 21 people have died.
