Binh Duong vaccination sites flooded with people seeking second Covid shot

Big crowds were spotted Monday at a number of vaccination sites in Binh Duong, Vietnam's major industrial hub that borders Ho Chi Minh City, with no social distancing measures deployed.

In some cases, thousands of people crowded together.

The vaccination site near Dong Phu Market in Thuan Giao Ward of Thuan An Town was packed with people throughout Monday morning, with crowds spilling out onto the street.

Many people present at the site said they wanted to get their second shot as soon as possible so that they could obtain a "green pass" and return to work.

It has been regulated that the pass would only be granted to those that have been fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months.

With people having reached the due date for their second shot, many rushed to vaccination sites, despite receiving zero notification.

"All my neighbors at the boarding house and I have been due for our second shots but none of us got notified. I heard this station is open for vaccination today so I came to find a slot. I didn’t know it would be this crowded. I’ve been waiting for three hours to register," a woman named Tham, 41, said.

Doan Tan Dung, office chief of Thuan An Town People’s Committee, said around 20,000 people in Thuan Giao Ward have reached the due date for their second shot of China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, but the ward administered only 3,000 doses Monday.

"Everyone is eager to get the second injection so they could return to work, and therefore, when learning the ward is organizing vaccinations, they simply flocked over.

"The number of people coming was so high the vaccination site was overloaded," he said, adding the local authorities would arrange the vaccination schedule "scientifically" in the coming days.

Also Monday, vaccination sites in Binh Duong’s Thu Dau Mot and Ben Cat towns had suffered the same overload.

Director of Binh Duong Department of Health, Nguyen Hong Chuong, said the vaccine allocated to the province is abundant and that the source of vaccines is enough for people to receive their second dose.

The province will soon receive one million extra doses of Sinopharm and 600,000 doses of AstraZenca, Chuong said.

Up to now, Binh Duong has received nearly 4.6 million doses of vaccine and has administered over three million, with 722,000 people having been double-jabbed.