Japan to provide 600,000 doses of Covid vaccine

Japan will provide about 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine manufactured in Japan to the people of Laos, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Motegi Toshimitsu announced on Tuesday.
The vaccines will be delivered to Laos as soon as the necessary logistics coordination by the COVAX Facility is completed.

Laos is one of several Asia-Pacific countries to receive the Japanese-manufactured vaccine, according to the Japanese Embassy to Laos.

The government of Japan has provided various forms of assistance to Laos in the fight against Covid-19, including medical supplies and personal protective equipment, as well as vaccines.
Japan is also trying to improve cold chain logistics in Laos by gifting refrigerators and freezers under the “Last One Mile Support” programme for the storage and delivery of vaccines. This equipment is valued at US$1.8 million.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga recently announced an additional contribution of US$800 million for the provision of more vaccines to developing countries including Laos, at the COVAX AMC Summit meeting on June 2, pushing up Japan’s commitment to US$1 billion in total.
The government of Japan has already extended valuable assistance to support Laos’ response to the pandemic.
This includes grant aid worth over 123 billion kip (JPY 1.5 billion) provided by Japan in June 2020 for the purchase of medical equipment for use by hospital and lab staff.
In December last year, Japan provided medical equipment including Covid test machines, test kits, pipettes, computers, printers, uninterruptible power supply units, and personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and gowns.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update July 14, 2021)