Photo: Chinese Embassy in Myanmar

 China has donated 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines along with 13 million COVID-19 vaccine syringes and two mobile laboratory vehicles to Myanmar, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on Sunday.

On May 29, the handover ceremony of COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies provided by the Chinese government to Myanmar was held at Yangon International Airport. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Chen Hai and Myanmar's Union Minister for Health Thet Khaing Win attended the ceremony. 

The China-donated COVID-19 vaccines and syringes arrived in Myanmar in separate batches from May 18 to May 29.

China has been continuously providing medical supplies to Myanmar in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, and has helped Myanmar in filling and packing COVID-19 vaccines to boost the country's vaccination rate, Chen said at the handover ceremony.

Also, China is continuing to push forward aid projects to the Myanmar Centers for Disease Control and the training center for medical personnel, and the two sides have signed on  the establishment of the a Myanmar Animal Disease Laboratory aid project. The two countries also plan to launch a malaria eradication project along the China-Myanmar border. It is hoped that these measures will help Myanmar strengthen its public health system and its capacity to respond to major public health events, the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said. 

China is committed to the dynamic zero-COVID policy, which concerns not only Chinese people, but also the rest of the world. "We will work with Myanmar to continue joint prevention and control of the epidemic along the China-Myanmar border, will further restore unimpeded border trade, and serve the needs of economic and livelihood stability of the two countries," said the embassy.

The currently-donated COVID-19 vaccines will be used in the inoculation of children aged five to 12 years old, and the two mobile laboratory vehicles will be used at the country's border checkpoints, Thet said.

The friendly cooperation between Myanmar and China will contribute to epidemic prevention and control as well as the socio-economic development of both countries, he added.

Myanmar has already administered vaccination to more than 92 percent of its adult population aged 18 years and above, Thet noted.

As of May 24, Myanmar had fully vaccinated more than 26.11 million people, or roughly 47 percent of the population, against COVID-19 in the country, official data showed.

As of Saturday, Myanmar confirmed 613,298 cases of COVID-19 and 19,434 related deaths, according to data. 

Global Times