COVID-19 vaccination campaign starts in Vietnam on Mar. 8

Frontline healthcare workers at National Hospitals for Tropical Diseases in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and people in Hai Duong, the epicenter of the country’s latest coronavirus outbreak have been selected to receive first shots this time.

Three Deputy Ministers of Health have fanned out to oversee the vaccination in Hanoi, HCM City and Hai Duong, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

This is the first time Vietnam has launched the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, using more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine imported last month.

The vaccine has passed quality tests by leading professionals from the MoH and their counterparts from the Republic of Korea.

Top priority will be given to the safety of the vaccine, said Minister Long, adding doctors have been equipped with necessary knowledge to deal with possible emergency cases.

The vaccination will be monitored by representatives of foreign organisations in Vietnam. Foreign media workers will be also invited to give news coverage of the event.

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.

It is anticipated to receive another 30 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this year from COVAX, a COVID-19 vaccination mechanism co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), GAVI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).

Vietnam is negotiating to import a further 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine of the United States this year.