Vietnam on Thursday approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine 'Janssen' for emergency use in view of the increasing coronavirus infection in the country. This step has been taken to curb the ever-increasing infection cases in the country and to boost the supply of vaccines.
With this, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine became the sixth vaccine to be approved in the Southeast Asian country. Meanwhile, the move is being seen in view of efforts to speed up the vaccination campaign. A record 3,416 new cases of infection were registered in the country on Thursday, which is the biggest daily spike so far. Most cases of infection have been reported from Ho Chi Minh City, where strict restrictions have been implemented since last week.
According to the country's health ministry, it has inked deals and commitments for 1.2 million and 40 lakh doses of various types of coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year. The country has received around 90 lakh doses of the vaccine so far. Most of which are made by AstraZeneca. About three lakh people in the country have received both doses of the vaccine. At present, a total of 40,850 infections and 207 deaths have been registered in Vietnam. These figures are very low compared to many countries.
Earlier, Vietnam had approved five other Covid-19 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V, Pfizer, Moderna and Sinopharm. Unlike the other vaccines, the J&J vaccine requires only one shot instead of two. Clinical trials around the globe with 44,000 volunteers have revealed an efficacy of 66 percent. The J&J vaccine has already been approved by the WHO on March 12.
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