HANOI, March 8 – Vietnam launches its COVID-19 inoculation drive on Monday morning, administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to medical workers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Duong province — the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot at present.
The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in Hai Duong, reported Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are expected to receive the shots Monday morning. The hospital is allocated 450 doses among the rst 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 rst 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.
Vietnam plans to import about 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Source: BERNAMA