Vietnam launches its COVID-19 inoculation drive on March 8 morning.
(Photo: VNA)
The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in
Hanoi, the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in
Hai Duong.
As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are
expected to receive the shots in the morning of March 8. The hospital is
allocated 450 doses among the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca
vaccine the country has received.
In Hai Duong, 50 medical workers at Hai Duong city’s medical centre, and 30
others at Kim Thanh district’s medical centre will be the first in the province
to be injected.
The Ministry of Health has allocated the vaccine to 13 localities, along with
the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and 21
hospitals during the first phase.
Among the localities, all having reported COVID-19 cases since the latest wave
of outbreaks since January 27, the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is
given 8,000 doses, Hai Duong CDC 32,000, and HCM City CDC 8,000.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security
each receive 30,000 doses.
At a meeting on March 6, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stressed the need to
ensure equality in vaccine access as suggested by the WHO, UNICEF and COVAC.
The localities excluded in the first phase should continue to prepare for the
inoculation, with training programmes, he said, adding that they would receive
the vaccine after the next shipment arrives in Vietnam in March.
The ministry will roll out the vaccination in all COVID-19 treatment hospitals,
prioritising those involved in frontline work, and those who participate in the
pandemic combat in the community like contact tracers.
People getting the shots will be monitored via digital health records and
receive e-certificates for their completion of inoculation.
Vietnam plans to import about 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Source: VNA