Vietnam No Longer Uses AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine: DAV
The Drug Administration of Vietnam, under the Ministry of Health, has announced that Vietnam no longer uses the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, local media reported.
The announcement came as British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca PLC recently announced that its COVID-19 vaccine would have its license revoked and all doses recalled worldwide.
The previously licensed doses have expired, the Vietnamese agency added, noting that Vietnam has ceased importing the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
To date, Vietnamese health authorities have safely administered 74.3 million doses nationwide to individuals aged 18 and older. The last doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Vietnam before July 2023.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine approved for importation into Vietnam since February 2021. At the time of its approval in Vietnam, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine had emergency use authorization in 181 countries and territories. It was also listed by the World Health Organization for emergency use.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that Vietnam had purchased, the country also received AstraZeneca vaccines through various aid programs.