Today's English "China-donated 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine set to arrive in Việt Nam today"

China-donated 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine set to arrive in Việt Nam today.

Half a million doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China are set to arrive in Việt Nam today.

The vaccine, with the product name Vero Cell, will be given to Chinese nationals living in Việt Nam, Vietnamese people who intend to go to work or study in China, and residents in the border region with China, according to the health ministry.

The move tracks with China’s visa facilitation and its vaccine passports which so far only accept Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines.

The Vietnamese health ministry on June 3 granted conditional approval of Sinopharm vaccine for use in the emergency outbreak situation, in addition to the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Russia’s Sputnik V, and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.

The Sinopharm vaccine can be kept at normal fridge temperatures (2-8 degrees Celsius) with a shelf life of up to 24 months, making it easy to store and transport.

In the announcement listing Vero Cell for emergency use to allow the vaccine to be used as part of the COVAX initiative, WHO noted the vaccine’s efficacy for symptomatic and hospitalized patients is estimated to be 79 percent, across all age groups, and recommended the Chinese vaccine for people 18 years and older, in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of three to four weeks.