Hanoi plans Covid vaccination for children in 2022

Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC), said it is focusing on fully vaccinating its adult population, before moving on to those aged 17-18, and those below 17 years of age.

Tuan said the city plans to vaccinate children from three years old, but there's no concrete plan yet.

Earlier this month, the Health Ministry approved Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 12-17, prioritizing those aged 16-17. It has yet to specify exactly what types of vaccine would be used, but they have to come in two doses and children must receive both shots of the same vaccine.

Children will be vaccinated if their parents or legal guardians give consent, it said.

So far, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for this particular age range.

HCMC's Thu Duc City on Friday announced to vaccinate 100,000 children aged 12-17 against Covid-19 starting Monday, but has cancelled the plan given lack of instruction from the ministry.

"Thu Duc City would begin vaccination once there's instruction regarding the date for vaccination by Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, and once vaccine doses have been distributed," said a representative of the Thu Duc medical center.

The Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control plans to vaccinate 780,000 children aged 12-17 across the city.

"Children throughout the entire city would receive their first shots within five days. The vaccination would begin as soon as there’s instruction from the health ministry," according to the vaccination plan by the Steering Committee.

Children aged 16-17 would be prioritized for vaccination, before passing to other ages.

Vietnam has vaccinated 51.9 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shots. 21 million people have been fully vaccinated. Children under 18 account for around 17 percent of all Covid-19 infections in Vietnam, according to data from the health ministry.