Vietnam urges WHO to accelerate COVAX drive as COVID-19 cases hit record

HANOI - Vietnam on Thursday called on the World Health Organization to speed up the COVAX vaccine drive as the country's new daily infections hit a record high.

Vietnam successfully contained outbreaks for most of last year, but a new outbreak that has infected 8,914 people since late April, or 75% of the total cases, has prompted calls for Vietnam's government to accelerate its vaccination programme. WHO should speed up vaccine delivery through the international COVAX scheme, Vu Duc Dam, head of the country's COVID-19 task force, said during a meeting with WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific, Takeshi Kasai.