US donates 1m vaccines to Vietnam as Covid-19 cases, deaths rise in Asean

Asean countries reported 89,577 new cases on Wednesday, higher than Tuesday’s 83,520, while deaths rose to 2,296 from 2,265 the previous day.

Total Covid-19 cases in the region crossed 9.56 million, while the death toll increased to 212,676.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that the United States would donate 1 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to Vietnam, where only 2 per cent of the population has been vaccinated. The US has already donated 5 million doses to the country. She said the vaccines would start arriving in Vietnam within a day.

In addition to the new vaccine doses, the US will provide $23 million to help Vietnam expand distribution and access to vaccines, combat the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for future disease threats.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's food and drug agency on Wednesday approved Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country. Sputnik V is the sixth vaccine to be approved for use in Indonesia following Sinovac, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer.

Indonesia, which has a population of approximately 276 million, has fully vaccinated 32.7 million people so far, while 58 million others have received their first shot.