HCMC needs extra 8.1 mln vaccine doses to inoculate all adults

For the remaining months of the year, the city's vaccination program would commence in four phases, according to a vaccination plan issued by the local administration.

The first phase between Aug. 29 and Sept. 10 would require 2.7 million doses to firstly vaccinate 680,000 people and later cover a targeted 90 percent of adults in the city.

The rest of the doses would be administered as second jabs to more than two million people. Specifically, 773,000 need to be double vaccinated with either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, 485,000 with Moderna, and 840,000 with Sinopharm.

In July, the Health Ministry said it would allow mixing the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with the one produced by Pfizer/BioNTech should there be limited vaccine supply.

For the second phase from Sept. 16 to 30, the demand would be more than 1.3 million doses to firstly inoculate the remaining 720,000 adults so 100 percent of people above 18 in the city would have had their first shot.

The rest would be for the second shot of 656,900 people, with 500,000 in need of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer, 18,200 Moderna, 700 Pfizer and 138,000 Sinopharm.

The second phase from Oct. 1 to 15 is to inject the second dose for 2.6 million that would received their first AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines.

The fourth and last phase from Oct. 16 to Dec. 31 will give the second shot to 1.4 million that would have received their first shot in the first phase.

In order to have enough vaccines according to this plan, in addition to sources provided by the Ministry of Health, the city’s Health Department has been assigned to coordinate with relevant units to negotiate and buy Covid-19 vaccines.

At the same time, the city itself would continue to call for funding for vaccines from different sources.

Local authorities in each district have been requested to administer the second dose as soon as they have access to vaccine sources.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Health Department, said those having had their first AstraZeneca shot should get the second 8-12 weeks later, while it has been recommended worldwide to have it after 12 weeks for highest efficiency.

For Pfizer, the second shot should be provided after three-four weeks, while the gap is four weeks for Moderna and Sinopharm.

Ho Chi Minh City has so far inoculated 6.1 million above 18, or 83 percent of the total, with the first dose.

The epicenter of Vietnam's fourth Covid-19 wave, which broke out four months ago, the city has recorded 215,810 cases to date. Of these more than 104,800 have recovered and more than 8,700 have died.