Việt Nam strives to have homegrown vaccines next month

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has asked for more efforts, determination and effective coordination among ministries, agencies and individuals to be able to have the first made-in-Việt Nam COVID-19 vaccines ready next month.

He spoke at a meeting held with scientists, units and businesses involving in COVID-19 vaccine research and production yesterday to seek solutions and promote vaccine production.

The Government has put special attention on promoting the production of vaccines as soon and as much as possible to vaccinate people amid the global shortage and complicated development of the pandemic.

The Prime Minister has had five meetings to discuss the research, technology transfer and production of homemade vaccines during a short period of time and visited vaccine research and production facilities in Hà Nội and HCM City, which demonstrated the Government’s special attention to this task.

In order to have COVID-19 vaccines, it was necessary to comprehensively implement the import of vaccines, transfer of vaccine production technology and research and production of homegrown vaccines, he said. Of which, the research, technology transfer and production of homemade vaccines played an important role.

He asked participants to make clear difficulties in vaccine research and production in order to work together to find solutions.

All sides needed to coordinate closely and proactively implement assigned tasks with full responsibilities, he said.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Health and related agencies reported the situation and progress of vaccine production technology transfer, research, clinical trials and production of homegrown COVID-19 vaccines, including the research, production and clinical trials of the Nano Covax vaccine which is produced by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC based on recombinant DNA/protein technology; the Covivac vaccine which has been researched and produced by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals under the Ministry of Health; and ARCT-154 vaccine which was purchased with technology transferred to VinBioCare Biotechnology JSC, a unit of Việt Nam's leading multisectoral conglomerate Vingroup, from Arcturus Therapeutics Holding Incorporation, USA.

Lieutenant-General Đỗ Quyết, Director of the Military Medical University, which joined the research and clinical trials of the Nano Covax vaccine, said the determination of the Government and the Prime Minister encouraged scientists and research and production agencies and affirmed they would strictly abide by professional and scientific regulations and processes and ensure objectiveness and honesty in vaccine research and judgement of human trials of vaccines.

Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Registration of Circulation of Drugs and Medicinal Ingredients Lê Văn Truyền said the council will implement assessments as soon as possible to submit to the Ministry of Health for granting circulation certificates for the vaccines in line with regulations after the ministry’s Ethical Evaluation Committee in Biomedical Research evaluated the vaccines following the results of trials.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said it was essential to speed up the research and production of homegrown vaccines to soon get a licence for emergency use as more vaccines are needed to inoculate as many people as possible at this time.

After October, more vaccines will arrive in Việt Nam in a large quantity with 60 million doses of vaccines scheduled for the fourth quarter. Projects receiving vaccine production technology transfer from foreign partners have started to be implemented. Homegrown vaccines will soon complete human trials.

PM Chính urged scientists, management staff and producers to speed up the progress and simplify administrative procedures but ensure tightened professional and scientific factors in the spirit of speed, safety and efficacy as this task is related to the health and live of people.