Harris: US to send additional 1 million vaccine doses to Vietnam

The United States will donate an additional 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam, Vice President Harris announced Wednesday during her visit to the country, on top of the roughly 5 million shots already provided from the U.S. supply.

The Pfizer vaccines will begin arriving in the country within the next 24 hours, Harris said during a joint appearance with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

“I know the Vietnamese people are facing a difficult time right now with COVID-19. We also know that early in the pandemic, Vietnam was generous in supporting the United States when we were in a time of need, with over 250,000 PPEs and masks being delivered to our country when we needed them. So we are proud to reciprocate in a time of need, most recently with these 1 million Pfizer vaccines,” Harris said.

While in Hanoi, Harris also announced the launch of a new Southeast Asia regional office for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will focus on preventing future outbreaks. She spoke of the importance of being prepared for the next pandemic and condemned attacks on health care workers in Myanmar, where a military coup happened earlier this year.

Harris is in Vietnam as the second stop in her first trip to Asia as vice president. She met with officials in Singapore before heading to Vietnam.

Her trip to Vietnam was initially delayed by a few hours after a health incident involving staff on the ground in Vietnam. The issue was a suspected but unconfirmed case of so-called Havana syndrome, which has affected dozens of U.S. diplomats who have felt suddenly ill or suffered brain injuries.

The coronavirus has been a major focus of Harris’s trip as the delta variant wreaks havoc in the U.S., spiking case totals and stressing hospital systems in several states. Vietnam is also dealing with record high infections, prompting a lockdown in parts of the country.

The Biden administration announced earlier this month it was recommending Americans get a booster shot to further increase their immune response to COVID-19, a decision that drew scrutiny as smaller, poorer countries still wait for first doses for their populations.