Australia donates Covid-19 vaccine, promises more to come

The Australian government has confirmed it will continue to provide Covid-19 vaccines in support of Laos’ efforts to contain the virus outbreak and to vaccinate 70 percent of the population by the end of 2022.
Australia’s contribution will further assist the Lao government in significantly increasing the proportion of citizens that are safely vaccinated.
This was the message from the Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy to Laos, Mr Dan Heldon, on Sunday before 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine were handed over by Australia to the Lao government today after the shipment arrived in Vientiane.

“We are pleased to continue cooperating with Laos through bilateral channels to ensure the safety of people’s lives and health,” Mr Heldon said.
Today’s 100,000 doses were the first batch to arrive in Laos provided by Australia, with a further 900,000 vaccines to arrive in the coming weeks.
The vaccine was handed over by Mr Heldon to the Head of Office of the Ministry of Health, Dr Chanthanom Manythip, and is part of a total 1 million doses of vaccine pledged by Australia to Laos.
Australia is a participant in the COVAX programme, which is a global initiative working for worldwide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. The vaccines will be supplied under this programme, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control
In May, the Australian government announced it would provide a grant of AUD15.2 million (US$11.85 million) for the rollout of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines in Laos.
Australia’s vaccine support package is in addition to the AUD4.8 million (US$3.74 million) of development assistance for the Covid-19 response that Australia is delivering, according to the Ministry of Health.
Australia has made a significant contribution to the multilateral COVAX facility, which has shipped millions of doses of vaccine to Laos.
As of December 18, a total of 4,391,416 million people in Laos had received a first dose of a vaccine and 3,355 872 people had been fully vaccinated.
 First dose vaccinations have now reached 59.85 percent of the population, while second dose vaccinations have now reached 45.73 percent.
Health authorities are expediting the vaccination programme as Laos strives to bring the Covid-19 outbreak under control.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
 (Latest Update December 21, 2021)