Illustrative photo from suckhoedoisong.vn

Half of the total were purchased by a leading multisectoral conglomerate in Vietnam, which earlier announced it would donate 500,000 doses to the ongoing fight against COVID-19 in the country. 

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said the doses will be distributed to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and several other localities that have been hard hit by the latest coronavirus outbreak. 

The Health Ministry on Friday added Remdesivir to the list of drugs in its COVID-19 treatment regimen.

Remdesivir is an intravenous antiviral drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last October for the treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19 patients requiring oxygen support. More than 50 countries, including the EU, the US, Australia, and Singapore, are using this drug in their regimen.