China's vaccine support benefits Myanmar's COVID-19 fight

YANGON, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's continued vaccine support has been effective and beneficial to Myanmar's fight against COVID-19.

"We must say that the vaccines supplied by China played a vital role in the control of COVID-19 here. The infection rate and mortality rate are under control during the third wave of COVID-19, with the help of a good neighbor," Khin Khin Gyi, director of the Central Infectious Disease Control Division of the Public Health Department, told Xinhua.

China's assistance is immense help to Myanmar's COVID-19 preventive and control measures, the director said.

"We don't need to question upon the safety of vaccines supported by China as both Sinopharm and Sinovac are listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use," she said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China and Myanmar have carried out effective cooperation, with China not only donating medicines and equipment, but also sending medical experts to assist Myanmar in combating the pandemic.

China is a major provider of COVID-19 vaccines to Myanmar, Information Minister Maung Maung Ohn told Xinhua recently.

Myanmar's COVID-19 vaccination program started with inoculating medical frontliners across the country in late January 2021.

As of Tuesday, over 35.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country. Over 15 million people have been fully vaccinated while over 5.5 million people have received the first jabs of COVID-19 vaccines so far, the health ministry's data showed.

The information minister said the vaccination is expected to cover the whole country in April 2022.

As part of the vaccine cooperation, Myanmar's Ministry of Industry and China National Biotec Group, affiliated with China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), signed a supply agreement for semi-finished vaccine products last week.

The agreement marks the achievement of China-Myanmar cooperation in vaccine filling and packaging, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai said at the signing ceremony, hoping that locally produced Sinopharm vaccines can be available soon and more people in Myanmar can have access to them.

"China is the one to be appreciated for its vaccine support and technical assistance in prevention and control of COVID-19," said Than Naing Soe, director of Health Literacy Promotion Unit of the Public Health Department and spokesperson of the ministry.

Myanmar had reported 530,645 COVID-19 infections with 19,265 deaths as of Thursday, according to the latest figures released by the ministry of health.

"I feel more protected after vaccination and I still follow preventive measures to continue protecting myself and others," said Thet Htar, a student who was fully vaccinated.

Myanmar detected its first two COVID-19 positive cases on March 23, 2020.