The Health Ministry is seeking approval from the government to buy 21.9 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate children aged 5-11.
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According to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, more than 20 countries have started giving Covid-19 vaccines to children aged between 5-11 but WHO has not made any official recommendations on vaccination for this age group.
"We’re continuing to discuss with experts at the WHO on giving Covid-19 vaccines to children aged between 5-11," the minister said. "There are around 11 million children in this age group in our country."
Earlier, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the health ministry to closely watch and follow Covid-19 vaccination programmes for children aged 5 and above from other countries so that schools can reopen for on-site classes.
"The vaccination plan for children aged 5-11 needs to be based on experiences of other countries to ensure its safety and effectiveness," the PM stressed.
Vietnam began vaccinating children aged 12-17 against Covid-19 from last November. So far the country has administered more than 15.3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for children in this age group.
