Govt to provide budget for purchase of Covid vaccine in 2022

The Ministry of Health plans to obtain additional supplies of Covid-19 vaccine in 2022 so that more free vaccinations can be offered to people if the virus outbreak continues into next year.
Accepting the delivery of UK-donated vaccines in Vientiane last week, Minister of Health Dr Bounfeng Phommalaisith said he highly valued the United Kingdom’s assistance, which was one of the latest shipments of vaccine to arrive in Laos.
The ministry has asked the government to provide a budget for the purchase of more vaccines because the provision of free vaccine through the UN-led COVAX Facility will end this year.
The government is also hoping to receive financial assistance from members of the public and other donors.
The ultimate aim is for the whole population to be vaccinated, Dr Bounfeng said, with 50 percent to be immunised this year. Because of the government’s financial constraints in buying Covid-19 vaccine, donor countries are purchasing vaccine on Laos’ behalf, he added.
Laos expects to receive 7.5 million doses of vaccine this year, donated by the governments of other countries as well as through the COVAX Facility. “This will help to drive the vaccination programme forward and bring us closer to our goal of vaccinating 50 percent of the population by the end of this year,” Dr Bounfeng said.
It is estimated that it will cost almost US$18 to immunise just one person, meaning that almost US$100 million is required to vaccinate everyone, according to the minister, citing an estimation made jointly by the Ministry of Health, the World Bank, the World Health Organisation, and Unicef.
Vaccinations have already been rolled out in target areas, namely places where cases of the virus have been identified, at-risk areas such as provinces bordering on virus outbreak countries, and in provinces with large populations.
On Monday the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control announced 170 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total to 8,561. Twenty-one of the new cases were transmitted locally, with two in Vientiane, one in Vientiane province, nine in Bokeo, six in Savannakhet, and three in Champassak.
Meanwhile, 149 imported cases were recorded, including 44 in Vientiane, seven in Khammuan, 25 in Saravan, two in Savannakhet, and 71 in Champassak. Savannakhet province has now recorded almost 3,000 cases of Covid-19. Four provinces have not recorded any cases of the virus, namely  Xekong, Xaysomboun, Huaphan and Attapeu.

By Phetphoxay Sengpaseuth 
(Latest Update August 10, 2021)