Vietnam approves Abdala vaccine as president visits Cuba

Abdala becomes the eighth COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Vietnam, which has one of the lowest inoculation rates in the region.

Vietnam has approved Cuba’s Abdala vaccine for use against the new COVID-19, the government said on Saturday, as the Southeast Asian country is battling its worst outbreak.

Abdala becomes the eighth COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Vietnam, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the region, with only 6.3 percent of its 98 million people having received at least two shots.

The announcement came hours after President Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Hanoi for an official visit to Havana.