Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is seeing a great opportunity to access the mRNA technology for vaccine production, said Patrick Haverman,UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam, at a workshop held by the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Health Strategy and PolicyInstitute (HSPI) under the Ministry of Health in Hanoi on May 22.

Haverman underlined the need for Vietnam to carefullyconsider the steps and timelines, the scale and sources of the required investmentof funds, and the development of expertise to ensure this technology transfer'seffectiveness and financial sustainability.

The collaboration among the key departments,institutes, enterprises, senior experts, and partners at the workshop willcontribute to developing an effective national strategy to improve vaccineaccess in Vietnam and the broader region in the coming time.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for Vietnamand other countries in accessing vaccine supplies. In mid-2021, Vietnam had oneof Southeast Asia's lowest COVID-19 vaccine coverage rates. However, through acombination of COVAX supplies, donations and procurement from international suppliers, Vietnam rapidlyincreased its vaccination rates in the latter half of 2021. This achievementnot only saved lives but also created conditions for reopening and recoveringfrom the economic impact of the pandemic.

The workshop aimed to disseminate the results of threestudies on strengthening vaccine production and certification in Vietnam and toupdate on Vietnam’s participation in WHO’s mRNA technology transfer programme through the project "Support to Strengthening Vaccine Access and HealthSystem Capacity for Vietnam's Response to COVID-19" which isfunded by the Japanese Government through the UNDP.

The workshop provided a platform to share the key findingsof three crucial studies conducted under this project, focusing onsharing international experiences on domestic vaccine development andproduction, mapping Vietnam's current vaccine production capacity, andreviewing international vaccine licensing policies and procedures, includinglicensing of international COVID-19 vaccines for use in Vietnam.

During the workshop, Vietnam's participation in the mRNATechnology Transfer Programme initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO)was highlighted.

A significant highlight of the workshop was the proposal ofa roadmap to establish Vietnam as a regional vaccine production center. Thisroadmap outlined the necessary steps and actions to enhance Vietnam'scapabilities in vaccine production, contributing to regional health security.

Dr. Nguyen Khanh Phuong, HSPI Vice Director, said that Vietnamhas the ability to master vaccine production technology as it has previouslymastered technologies such as inactivated vaccines, antitoxin vaccines, subunitvaccines.

She underlined the need for Vietnam to focus on developing highly qualified andskilled human resources for vaccine production, while building a GMP (goodmanufacturing practice) production facility with a scale to meet domestic andexport demand, among others./.