Vietnam reports 28 new cases, including one imported on Saturday evening.
Among the new cases, Hai Duong province records 18 community-based infections, 01 imported case and 01 community case in Ho Chi Minh city, 02 cases in Gia Lai Province, 02 cases in Hanoi city and 04 cases in Quang Ninh province.
By Saturday evening, Vietnam has registered 1,767 cases, including 207 from the current outbreak which emerged from Thursday. Hai Duong has recorded 175 cases of those.
As the speed of transmission has been proved to be the fastest ever since the epidemic broke out in Vietnam, health experts are analyzing the virus strains on the first two patients based on the theory that it could be the U.K. variant, which is 70 percent more transmissible compared to previous strains.
Vietnam’s Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said on Saturday morning that the ministry had approved the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
This is the first inoculation licensed for distribution in Vietnam, Tuoi Tre Newspaper reported.
AstraZeneca has committed to provide 30-50 million doses in 2021, 50,000 of which should be available in Vietnam in February, according to the health ministry.
AstraZeneca sells the vaccine to Vietnam for less than US$10 per two injections on the non-for-profit principle, the news source said.
Meanwhile, clinical trials are still taking place for two made-in-Vietnam vaccines — Nano Covax and Covivax, according to Tuoi Tre Newspaper.
The pandemic has infected more than 102.5 million people worldwide, killing more than 2.2 million.
… to be updated
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