While he did not divulge specific details of the agreement, the minister said at the first session of the 15th National Assembly that a factory with the capacity to produce 200 million doses is under construction and will commence operations in the first half of 2022.

He said Vietnam has also reached agreements on technology transfers for the coronavirus vaccine with Russia and Japan.

The Hanoi-based Vabiotech company had packaged its first batch of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccines last week. The batch will be evaluated in Russia before mass production begins in Vietnam. The tech transfer for the vaccine will be completed by the end of this year, Long said.

Up to now, Vietnam has secured deals for 130 million doses of vaccines and is in talks with other manufacturers on deals for a further 40 million shots, he said, adding that the shots are expected to arrive in 2021 and early 2022.

To date around 4.5 million doses have been administered, but only about 372,353 people have been fully vaccinated.

Vietnam’s ongoing vaccination campaign targets 70 percent of its 96 million population.