According to the official, 1.682 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Vietnam on May 16, which are supplied by COVAX Facility via the UNICEF.
Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that the Expanded Programme on Immunisation will continue to hold trainings on COVID-19 vaccination, especially pre-vaccination screening and response to post-injection reactions to ensure safety.
Meanwhile, Prof., Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, underlined the significance of COVID-19 vaccination amid the complicated pandemic situation in the region and the world with over 3 million deaths so far.
Minister Long said that the Ministry of Health (MoH) has negotiated with many countries, organisations and vaccine producers, resulting in 110 million doses of vaccines committed for Vietnam, including 31 million doses from COVAX Facility, 30 million from AstraZeneca, and 31 million from Pfizer/BioNTech.
The ministry has registered with COVAX to buy additional 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the cost-share mechanism, he added.
Long affirmed that the ministry is still working with other suppliers to diversify sources of supplies.
Since March 2021, the COVID-19 vaccination scheme has been carried out, with priority given to frontline medical workers and people involving in COVID-19 prevention and control activities.
As of May 13,959,182 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered to the target groups in an effective and safe manner. The second phase of the scheme is expected to complete on May 15.
16 new domestic COVID-19 cases
This afternoon, the ministry announced that Vietnam logged 16 more COVID-19 cases as of 12 pm on May 14, all of them were detected in sealed off areas.
Of the new infections, seven were in Bac Ninh, three in the Tan Trieu facility of the Vietnam's National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi, along with two each in Lang Son and Nam Dinh and one each in Thai Binh and Hung Yen.
As of May 14, Vietnam reported a total 1,458 imported cases and 2,298 locally transmitted ones, including 728 infections since April 27.
Meanwhile, 83,415 people are being quarantined nationwide.
The MoH’s Department of Medical Examination Management reported that 2,657 patients have been given the all-clear. Among those who are still under treatment at medical establishments, 49 have tested negative once, 25 twice and 18 thrice.
