A number of domestic businesses have announced their plans to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for use among their employees and family members following the arrival of the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Vaccination will start in early March, and 1.2 million more doses may be added to the programme in late March.

Vietnam is in talks with Pfizer for 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2022, along with 60 million doses of Sputnik V from Russia, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long announced on Wednesday.

COVID-19 vaccines should be considered a shared asset of the international community, and delivered to countries at affordable prices, prioritising vulnerable groups and frontline workers in the pandemic combat.