“We are hoping to use half of the ASEAN Response Fund to purchase vaccines for each ASEAN member state with UNICEF and this is through the COVAX facility,” Lim said during the 5th ASEAN Media Forum.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be using half of its response fund to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for its member countries, Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi said Friday.
“We are hoping to use half of the ASEAN Response Fund to purchase vaccines for each ASEAN member state with UNICEF and this is through the COVAX facility,” Lim said during the 5th ASEAN Media Forum.
He said the United States and China are major contributors of vaccines in the region.
On August 3, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Lim and foreign ministers of the ASEAN. He said the US donated more than 23 million vaccine doses and nearly $160 million in assistance to ASEAN member states to combat COVID-19. 
He also said the US plans to provide $500,000 to the ASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund to support the purchase of vaccines.
On the same day, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers’ meeting where he expressed support on the Response Fund “to procure urgently needed supplies such as vaccines.”
“They are contributing a lot to ASEAN member states. We thank them and we hope that we can work together with these two important countries in order to contribute more vaccines to the ASEAN,” Lim said.
He cited the importance of having a steady supply of vaccines “so that we can get away from this pandemic.”
“Once 70% of the population of all ASEAN members have been vaccinated, I’m sure we will have herd immunity and we will be able to open our economy for everyone and it will allow us to travel to other ASEAN countries,” Lim said.
The ASEAN Secretary General said this is important especially for the migrants and owners of small enterprises “because these are the people that depend so much on tourists.”
A number of ASEAN member countries have imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Philippines, for example, has implemented restrictions on travelers from several countries including Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia due to the more contagious Delta variant.
Aside from the Philippines, other members of the ASEAN are Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
During the AMF, Lim expressed hope that the framework for a regional travel corridor, which will allow entry and exit of people from one member country to another, will be finalized and implemented before the end of the year.—AOL/MDM, GMA News