A batch of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine presented by Japan is transported to the Noi Bai International Airport warehouse. Japan will donate an additional one million doses to Vietnam - PHOTO: MINISTRY OF HEALTH

HCMC – Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi today, July 13, announced that Japan would donate an additional one million AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam, which will be the fourth vaccine donation by Japan over the past month.

According to the Ministry of Health, this Covid-19 vaccine donation is expected to arrive in Vietnam on July 16. It will raise the total number of doses given to Vietnam by Japan to nearly three million, the local media reported.

Japan sent three vaccine shipments totaling nearly two million doses to Vietnam on June 16, July 2 and 9.

On July 12, an additional 15,900 people were vaccinated against Covid-19, raising the total number of vaccinated people to more than four million, with nearly 280,400 of them receiving two shots.

This month, the Ministry of Health will receive 8.7 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. This week, the second Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shipment will come to Vietnam.

The country set a target to vaccinate 70% of its population by April 2022 to reach herd immunity. To reach the target, Vietnam needs 150 million Covid-19 vaccine doses.

To date, deals have been secured with different suppliers for around 105 million vaccine doses.