Why Is Vietnam Interested in Russia’s Reported COVID Vaccine?

Vietnam recently said it had registered to buy millions of COVID-19 vaccine¹ from Russia after that country's surprising announcement that it had approved one.

The Russian announcement came less than two months after the start of human testing of the vaccine. The vaccine only completed its Phase 2 trials. A Phase 3 trial involving tens of thousands of people is normally required before a vaccine can be approved.

After Russia said it had approved a vaccine, the United States, an important partner of Vietnam, expressed disbelief that Russia could have developed a vaccine so quickly. And the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the country to make sure it followed international guidelines in its effort.

The WHO says more than 150 programs are currently researching possible vaccines² around the world, including those in China, Australia, Britain and the United States.

Russia's international relations have suffered elsewhere, from interference in the U.S. presidential election, to its seizure³ of Ukrainian territory which led to European Union sanctions. But Vietnam's long history with Russia might help explain their vaccine deal.

Vietnam is one of the last remaining communist nations, which had strong ties to the old Soviet⁴ Union. Vietnam's founder⁵ Ho Chi Minh was a student of the ideas of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. Ho and other influential⁶ young people from the former French colony of Indochina, now Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, spent formative years in Russia.

Looking at other vaccines

Vietnam was doing its own vaccine research before the Russia announcement. However, the first workable vaccine is likely to come from a nation with many resources. This has led developing nations like Vietnam, Indonesia and India to look for help elsewhere.

The state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre reported that Vietnam could buy 50 million to 150 million doses of the Russian vaccine by 2021. And Vietnam's health ministry⁷ said it has also registered to buy possible vaccines being developed by Britain and the U.S.

"A vaccine that has been used in a foreign country may not require any more tests when it's imported to Vietnam," said Dr. Tran Dac Phu, a top advisor⁸ to the Vietnam Ministry of Health's Public Health Emergency Operations Center. He spoke⁹ on the national VTV station. However, he added, "its trials must still be applied¹⁰ on humans to test its safety and effectiveness."

Vietnam has dealt with COVID-19 more aggressively than some of its neighbors. The country intensified¹¹ the battle against the disease in July when it reported its first COVID death.

Still people need to keep taking safety measures and not put all their hopes on a vaccine, said Vu Duc Dam, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam who has been leading the pandemic efforts.

"Because we controlled the disease well for a long time, people have become more negligent¹²," he said this month. "It's time to remind ourselves that the pandemic is still going on and the vaccine will only be available to everyone in at least one year. We must strengthen measures to safely live together with the disease."

I'm Caty Weaver¹³.

Words in This Story

sanction – n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc. — usually plural¹⁴

dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time

apply – v. to use (an idea, method, law, etc.) in a particular situation

pandemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

negligent – adj. failing to take proper or normal care of something or someone

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

3 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

13 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

14 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。