The Ministry of Health has urged localities to complete Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged between 5-12 by August at the latest.
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In an official dispatch sent on July 25 to the health ministry and the people’s committees of provinces and cities nationwide, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam requested the completion of Covid-19 inoculation for children aged between 5 - 11 in August, as well as the administration of the third shot for those aged 12 - 17, as well as the third and fourth doses to people aged 18 and above as soon as possible.
According to a report from the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has so far administered more than 240 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines with large coverage of the first and second doses. The pandemic has been basically brought under control nationwide.
Amid the sharp drop in Covid-19 deaths and infections, more people have ignored booster jabs. Meanwhile, many people who have contracted Covid-19 think they do not need to get booster shots as they have antibodies against the virus. Lots of people have expressed concerns about the complications of the Covid-19 vaccine, which has discouraged them taking further shots.
In his dispatch, deputy PM Dam also noted that many localities and agencies haven’t worked drastically enough, meaning the vaccination progress has lagged behind schedule.
Currently, up to 21.5 million doses of Covid-19 in Vietnam have not yet been used due to the slow pace of vaccination in many localities.
Meanwhile, the pandemic remains complicated in many countries. Vietnam has continued to record cases of Omicron’s new sub-variants, BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.12.1, and faces the risk of new outbreaks.
Vaccination is one of the most effective measures to fight against the disease, the deputy PM underlined.