A shipment of Sinopharm vaccine donated by Malaysia arriving at Wattay International Airport.
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): A second consignment of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine donated by the Malaysian government arrived at Wattay International Airport on Monday (June 20).
Malaysia’s first donation of 283,400 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Laos in December 2021.
The donations are part of Malaysia’s contribution to global efforts to end the pandemic and support Laos’ goal to vaccinate at least 80 percent of the adult population by the end of this year.
The government is sourcing assistance from various sectors and friendly countries to supplement its own resources, while health authorities are expediting the vaccination programme in a bid to eliminate the Covid outbreak.
The latest batch of donated vaccine will be administered to people of all age groups and those with underlying health conditions, under the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan.
Following the arrival of the vaccine at Wattay International Airport, the shipment was handed over to the Ministry of Health by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to the Lao PDR, accompanied by diplomats from the Malaysian Embassy and other officials.
Health authorities are expediting the vaccination programme as Laos strives to bring an end to the Covid outbreak.
The government acknowledges that vaccination is the most important tool in the fight against the virus.
In total, the Malaysian government has donated 780,400 doses of Covid vaccine to Laos, which have helped to bolster the immunity of the population against the virus and build resilience.
The Malaysian and other governments have provided Laos with six types of Covid-19 vaccine, namely Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Sinovac and Sputnik.
Laos has received vaccine from China, the UK government, the US, Russia, Cambodia, Australia, Malaysia and other friendly countries via the Covax Facility.
