Under 20% have reaction after COVID-19 vaccination: Health ministry

by NDO21 June 2021 Last updated at 23:14 PM

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Hanoi. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)
Vaccination against COVID-19 in Hanoi. (Photo: NDO/Duy Linh)

VTV.vn - COVID-19 vaccines currently have a protective effect of between 60-90% and the reaction rate after injection has been less than 20%, according to the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam has injected 1,991,059 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, of which 89,833 people have been fully vaccinated with two doses.

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), said that Vietnam has completed two rounds of vaccination, with safety and efficacy amongst the vaccines that have been provided.

With the vaccines distributed in phase 3, localities across the nation are implementing vaccination as planned and have administered about 30% of the vaccines received.

Following the direction of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health on speeding up vaccination, all localities need to complete their 3rd round of vaccination this month.

Hong said that like any other vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines have certain reactions post-injection, including normal ones regarding the body's immune response to protect against the disease and also severe reactions that threaten the health and life of the vaccinated person if not treated promptly.

So far, after more than 1.5 million doses in Vietnam, the number of reactions has ranged from about 14-20%. This rate is equivalent to the figures from the manufacturers and World Health Organisation (WHO).

Some severe reactions, such as anaphylaxis, have occurred, and medical facilities have followed the guidance of the Ministry of Health on handling such cases.

Assessing the effectiveness of vaccine protection against new strains of the coronavirus, Hong said that the COVID-19 vaccines in use are all the newest ones. Therefore, according to the clinical trial data from the manufacturers, the effectiveness and protection of the vaccines is still being monitored and evaluated. Some recent studies show that the COVID-19 vaccines are still effective against some strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"The reality shows that new coronavirus strains cannot immediately neutralise the effectiveness of vaccines. The WHO continues to recommend vaccination as a proactive and effective preventive measure against the disease," said Hong.

Therefore, she emphasised that COVID-19 vaccines will help reduce the number of people infected with the virus, the number of complicated cases, and the number of hospitalisations and deaths. COVID-19 vaccines in general and the AstraZeneca vaccine in particular not only protect the health of the injected, but also help maintain the health system's capacity, avoid overload due to having to care for too many critically ill patients, and will also help life return to normal soon.

According to Assoc. Prof, Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, vaccines are the most effective and sustainable weapons to prevent infectious diseases. Normally, vaccine production takes 4-5 years, even 10 years. The COVID-19 vaccines have been produced in less than a year and have been licensed for use under emergency conditions.

"We do not know how long the injection will be effective in preventing the disease. It is unclear how effective it is in preventing the spread of the disease. Researchers are sure it will reduce severe symptoms and mortality. Therefore, people must not be subjective, and they still have to apply 5K message (in Vietnamese) of khau trang (facemask) - khu khuan (disinfection) - khoang cach (keeping distance) - khong tu tap (no gathering) - khai bao y te (health declaration)," Phu emphasised.

To have herd immunity, Vietnam needs to vaccinate at least 70% of the population. Upon achieving herd immunity, Vietnam should hopefully not have to apply any social distancing rules.

"We will try to inject quickly to achieve herd immunity, but it depends on the number of vaccines we have (imported or manufactured). In my opinion, it may not be possible to achieve herd immunity from now until the end of the year. Therefore, Vietnam still has to maintain the strategy of prevention, detection, isolation, zoning, suppression and effective treatment, while at the same time pushing the message of 5K + vaccine," Phu said.

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