There have been no serious reactions reported after the first two days Vietnam carried out the Covid-19 vaccination campaign according to the National Expanded Immunisation Programme.
A health worker is given Covid-19 vaccine at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on March 8.
A total of 522 healthcare workers and people involved in the anti-pandemic activities in Vietnam had been injected with Covid-19 vaccine during the first two days of the vaccination campaign on March 8 and March 9.
Initial reports said that most of the vaccinated people displayed normal symptoms which have been predicted including muscle pain, fatigue, fever, headache, chill, pain at the injection spot and nausea.
There were five cases with heavier reactions, who were treated at hospital and all of them are now in stable conditions.
This is the first national Covd-19 vaccination campaign, using more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine imported last month.
The National Expanded Immunisation Programme reported that in Hanoi 107 people received the shots at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and 36 at Thanh Nhan Hospital.
The Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases gave the injections to 104 people, and 69 others were given the shots in the central highlands province of Gia Lai.
In addition, 206 people in the Covid-19 hotspot of Hai Duong Province have also been vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health said that the vaccination campaign will continue in 18 other localities in the coming days.
Top priority will be given to the safety of the vaccine, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said at a meeting on Sunday, adding doctors have been equipped with necessary knowledge to deal with possible emergency cases.
Vietnam imported more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in late February. This is the first batch of the 30 million doses that Vietnam is expected to receive from AstraZeneca this year under a recently-signed deal with the manufacturer.
The country will receive 5,657,000 more doses in March and April, the ministry said.
Vietnam is also negotiating to import a further 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the United States this year. The country plans to import about 150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and give it free to all citizens.
