Is Vietnam affected?

On May 8, AstraZeneca announced that it was withdrawing the license and recalling all Covid-19 vaccines it researched and produced worldwide. The company is currently in the process of requesting to withdraw the license in the remaining regions and countries around the world.

Currently, Vietnam no longer uses AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine.

From May 7, this vaccine can no longer be used in the European Union (EU), after the company voluntarily withdrew its business license in this region.

The decision was made for “commercial reasons,” according to AstraZeneca. There are currently many other vaccines that are more effective and capable of preventing many new SARS-CoV-2 variants than its vaccine.

Previously, AstraZeneca admitted that side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine causing blood clots and thrombocytopenia could occur, although they were very rare.

In response to the news that AstraZeneca has just announced that it will recall the Covid-19 vaccine globally, a representative of the Drug Registration Department, Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health said that Vietnam is no longer using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Quang Thai, Head of the Northern Vaccination Office, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam will no longer use AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for vaccination from July 2023. Currently, the Institute's warehouse is storing more than 432,000 doses of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine with an expiry date of late September 2024.

In response to information about possible side effects of this vaccine, representatives of the Ministry of Health and medical experts said that people who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine should not panic, because any side effects of this vaccine only occur within 28 days after use.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is the first Covid-19 vaccine approved for conditional import into Vietnam since February 2021. At the time of licensing in Vietnam, the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca had been licensed for emergency use in 181 countries and territories. At the same time, this is also the vaccine that the World Health Organization has included in the emergency use list.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to the 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine ordered from AstraZeneca, Vietnam has also received AstraZeneca vaccines sporadically through sponsorship programs.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/astrazeneca-thu-hoi-vaccine-covid-19-viet-nam-co-bi-anh-huong-19224050814070606.htm