Waiting for Covaxin's approval by WHO, says Vietnam envoy

Vietnam's envoy to India Pham Sanh Chau has said that his country is waiting for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to approve the Indian COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin even as they are sourcing more vaccines globally.

Speaking from Bengaluru to our Principal Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Pham Sanh Chau said, "Covaxin is not approved yet by WHO for emergency use, that is why we are waiting for this approval by WHO and then we will intensify the discussion."

Covaxin is an Indian vaccine made by Bharat Biotech, headquartered in the south Indian city of Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech submitted its application to the World Health Organization for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) on 19th April and a pre-submission meeting will happen later this month. Interesting to know, Envoy Chau recently got Covaxin at Delhi's Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. 

Vietnam also sent assistance to India amid the pandemic. It sent 109 ventilators and 50 oxygen concentrators in the first batch. In the 2nd batch, it sent 100 ventilators, 275 concentrators, 1300 oxygen cylinders, and 50,000 masks.

Question: How is Vietnam assisting India when it comes to the COVID-19 crisis in the country?

Pham Sanh Chau: I think one of the most salient features of the relief that Vietnam provided to Indian friends is that most of the relief comes from people, from individuals and organizations which are not state agencies. So there is a big campaign at the national level of collecting relief to provide to Indian friends. From children to the elder people, to the religious people so everyone trying to contribute small-small things in order to support Indian friends. So this is the solidarity, sentiment, and love that Vietnamese people give to Indian friends at this difficult moment. 

Question: What is the situation in Vietnam when it comes to the virus. It reported a new variant, which is a hybrid of variants first found in the UK (Alpha) & India (delta), anything on that?

Pham Sanh Chau: We are just hit by the 4th wave as it has been identified since 27th April. So just one month ago and this case has brought the cases from 1600 to more than 6000. It means over the past one month, the number of infections has doubled the total infection that Vietnam has incurred over the past one and half years. This mutant is spreading very fast. So I think, now we are still analyzing the sources of that and waiting for the final certification of health authorities.

Question: What kind of global cooperation is underway when it comes to Vietnam, especially on vaccines?

Pham Sanh Chau: Vietnam badly needs vaccines like other Asian countries. We have placed the order recently to Pfizer. We are in the process of negotiating with Moderna before we have signed an agreement with AstraZeneca. We also have the opportunity to purchase Covaxin. Covaxin is not approved yet by WHO for emergency use, that is why we are waiting for this approval by WHO and then we will intensify the discussion and drafting of the contract for the purchase of this COVAXIN for Vietnamese people.