More than 50 percent of parents have agreed on vaccinating children aged 5-11 against Covid-19 according to a survey announced on February 4 by the Ministry of Health.
The ministry said that vaccination against Covid-19 for children aged 5-11 was a recommendation rather than compulsory.
"Parental agreement is very important in the Covid-19 vaccination and we will carefully assess short-term and long-term impacts of the vaccination on children," the ministry said.
In a recent interview with local media, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that they have negotiated with Pfizer on buying the vaccines and would place an order based on the government's instruction.
"This vaccination is not obligatory but recommended for children in this age group," the minister said. "Statistics have shown that some 80 percent of people who died from Covid-19 in Vietnam were either not vaccinated or were not vaccinated enough. Most of them were elderly people or those with underlying diseases."
Vietnam started vaccinating children from 12 years old late last year. Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chinh ordered local authorities, especially localities with high vaccination rates for children aged between 12 and 17, to organise in-person classes for students aged 12 and above as soon as possible after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The country has so far administered over 181.66 million Covid-19 vaccine shots, with over 74.18 million people having received two doses.
Source: dtinews.vn