Is Vietnam affected?

On May 8, AstraZeneca announced the revocation of licenses and recall of all Covid-19 vaccines researched and produced by the company worldwide . The unit is carrying out the process of requesting to withdraw licenses 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.

AstraZeneca said the decision was for “commercial reasons.” 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 can occur, although they are 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 until the end of 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 type 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