Today, a donation of more than 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in the Lao PDR through the COVAX Facility – a partnership co-lead by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO), with UNICEF as key delivery partner – making this the sixth shipment of vaccines provided by COVAX to the Lao PDR following a recent donation in early November.
The new allotment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines consists of a direct contribution of 132,000 doses from the COVAX Facility and separate dose sharing donations of the same vaccine from Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands through the COVAX Facility.
Dose sharing is a rapid way of closing the immediate supply gap. The Lao PDR has been provided 100,800 doses by Finland, 199,200 doses from Sweden as well as 199,200 doses from the Netherlands.
“The Government of the Lao PDR welcomes this new shipment of vaccines from the COVAX Facility and would like to thank the Governments of Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands for their highly valuable contribution of doses, which will support the Lao PDR in its ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign, especially now that we have set a new target of vaccinating 70 per cent of the total population by the end of 2021,” said Minister of Health Bounfeng Phoummalaysith.
These vaccines will be primarily used to vaccinate those who are at risk of severe COVID-19 but have not received all recommended doses yet. The priority groups include frontline workers including healthcare workers, elderly aged 60 years and above, people with underlying health conditions, pregnant people, and essential workers including school teachers and staff across the country in line with the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan.
“I am honored and proud to see the contribution of European countries including Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Lao PDR. This gesture of solidarity from Team Europe as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism will help Laos at this critical time because no one is safe until everyone is safe. To make sure the COVID-19 reaches everyone, especially the most vulnerable, the EU is working tirelessly to bring more vaccines to Laos in the coming weeks,” stated European Union Ambassador to the Lao PDR Ina Marciulionyte.
Lao PDR has been making steady progress in vaccinating the population against COVID-19, with over 3.7 million people (about 51 per cent of the population) having already received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccination and over 3 million (about 42 per cent of the population) having received all recommended doses as of 21 November.
“These COVID-19 vaccines are proven safe and effective in preventing severe disease and death. As local cases increase in the country, the vaccines will contribute towards mitigating community transmission of the virus in the Lao PDR when implemented with public health and social measures. These are also vital to end the pandemic and accelerate global recovery,” said WHO Representative to Lao PDR Jun Gao.
“It is great to see more COVID-19 vaccines arrive in the Lao PDR and the current progress that we are making in vaccinating the population. UNICEF is delighted to have played a part in this endeavour and COVAX’s global mission towards ensuring vaccine equity,” stated UNICEF Representative to the Lao PDR Pia Rebello Britto.
Gavi board members represented in the Lao PDR include Australia, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and CEPI, working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil society organizations, manufacturers, and others. COVAX is part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
Source: Lao News Agency