Vietnam will quicken pace of vaccine roll-out

Significance

Meanwhile, its programme to vaccinate the population against the coronavirus is proceeding slowly: fewer than 160,000 of its roughly 98 million people are fully inoculated. The only COVID-19 vaccine administered by the authorities to date is the UK-Swedish AstraZeneca shot, but Hanoi has received and ordered doses of other jabs as well.

Impacts

• The authorities will keep use of Chinese vaccines limited.
• Quickly widening vaccination coverage will be key to realising the targeted average annual GDP growth of 6.5-7.0% in 2021-25.
• Vietnam will aim to become a key manufacturing hub for global vaccine supply chains.