COVID-19 vaccines (Source: AFP)Hanoi (VNA) – ASEAN member nations, includingMyanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, are actively working toobtain COVID-19 vaccines from different sources.
Myanmar is negotiating to buy seven million doses ofRussia’s Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine after initially planning to buy two milliondoses, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar said in an interviewwith Russia’s RIA news agency.
The move aims to tackle a new wave of coronavirus infectionsin the nation.
Aung Hlaing, who recently returned from a trip to Russia,said his country’s neighbouring India, which had initially supplied the bulk ofMyanmar’s vaccines, was unable to provide more doses due to its own outbreak.
According to him, China has also sent Myanmar some vaccines and Myanmar will continuenegotiations with China in this regard.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will receive 1 million AstraZenecaCOVID-19 vaccines donated by Japan on July 1 and another 1 million doses of thePfizer-BioNTech vaccine donated by the US on July 2.
Japan has also agreed to donate similar amounts of theAstraZeneca vaccine to the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
Zuellig Pharma, Moderna's supply partner for COVID-19 vaccines in SoutheastAsia, has said that regional orders for the mRNA vaccine are almost fullybooked for this year, highlighting procurement challenges for countries slowoff the mark.
Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand are among those that havesought or signed deals for Moderna or have already begun receiving vaccinebatches./.
VNA
