COVAX Facility donates 523,200 doses of Covid vaccine

The government has welcomed a donation of 523,200 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility in support of Laos’ efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.
The vaccine will primarily be used for people who are at high risk of Covid infection and who have not yet had two vaccinations.

Priority groups include people aged 60 and over, people with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, healthcare workers and essential workers such as schoolteachers and others across the country, as recommended in the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan.
The latest shipment of Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Laos on Sunday on a TRI-M-G Asian Airlines plane.
A handover ceremony for the vaccine at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane was attended by Deputy Minister of Health Dr Snong Thongsana, WHO Representative to Laos Dr Jun Gao, UNICEF Representative to Laos Dr Pia Rebello Britto, and senior officials from the Ministry of Health. 
Lao health authorities are expediting the vaccination programme as the government strives to bring the virus outbreak under control.
The donation of vaccine is part of the COVAX Facility’s contribution to ongoing global efforts to end the pandemic, and support for Laos’ goal to vaccinate 50 percent of its population by the end of this year.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Dr Snong said the vaccine will be used by the government to bolster ongoing efforts to vaccinate the Lao population against Covid-19.
Vaccines are the most important tool in the fight against the virus, he said.  As the outbreak in Laos spreads, the government is sourcing assistance from various sectors and friendly countries to supplement its own resources.
This latest delivery of vaccine is part of the COVAX Facility’s ongoing efforts to ensure global equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines and follows a donation of vaccine to Laos through the Facility in August by the government of Japan, in response to a request from the Lao government
The COVAX Facility is a partnership co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO), with UNICEF as the key delivery partner.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth
(Latest Update November 1, 2021)