A Covid-19 vaccine shot is given to a woman in HCMC, June 19, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa

 

The National Assembly Committee for Financial and Budgetary Affairs have confirmed that the funds needed for Vietnam to vaccinate its entire population against Covid-19 have been "basically guaranteed."

 

The committee said in a report that apart from VND18.1 trillion ($795 million) from the state budget, the Covid-19 vaccine fund has raised VND8.693 trillion, which means Vietnam now has around VND26.8 trillion.

 

This will be sufficient for purchasing vaccines needed to inoculate seventy-five million of its ninety-six million population, according to VN Express.

 

The vaccine fund was set up in May to raise contributions from various sources, including private companies and citizens, to ease the state budget’s burden.

 

VND15.534 trillion spent

 

By the end of September, Vietnam had spent VND15.534 trillion buying vaccines – VND7.96 trillion from the vaccine fund and the rest from the state budget, the committee said.

 

The nation now has VND11.27 trillion left – VND10.53 trillion from the state budget and VND733 billion from the vaccine fund – that can be used to purchase more vaccine doses.

 

Vietnam aims to procure 150 million doses of vaccines at an estimated cost of VND25.2 trillion to cover 70 percent of its population this year, the Health Ministry had announced earlier.

 

In a report sent to the National Assembly, the government said that by mid-October, Vietnam had secured deals for 191.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses as aid and via commercial contracts.

 

The nation had received 92.5 million doses so far.

 

As of Wednesday, over forty-nine million people had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot and 19.5 million people had been fully vaccinated.

 

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So Vietnam is paying on average $7.40 per shoot while Thailand is paying $17 for a pretty useless Sinovac pseudo vaccine. 

 

Amazing Vietnam ????????.