HCMC requires speedy vaccination for industrial workers

Of these, nearly 46,000 workers have not yet received the first dose while nearly 83,000 are awaiting their second.

The Management Board of Industrial - Export Processing Zones of Ho Chi Minh City (Hepza) will coordinate with the city’s Department of Health and related agencies to vaccinate all these workers from Oct. 5 to 15.

Among 128,000 workers who need to be vaccinated from next week, over 31,000 had earlier returned to their hometowns, mainly in neighboring provinces like Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An.

Therefore, HCMC Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority Business Association (HBA) proposed city authorities and those in neighboring provinces to create favorable conditions for these workers to travel to vaccination sites in HCMC or bordering areas.

To be eligible for a return to work, factory staff need to get one dose of a Covid vaccine at least 14 days before, or have contracted and recovered from the disease.

Previously, most workers in HCMC received their first dose at their factories. However, since the city imposed strict lockdown measures amid the complicated development of the pandemic, after July 15, many businesses that failed to ensure pandemic prevention measures had to temporarily shut down.

Therefore, many workers returned to their hometowns and faced difficulties in accessing Covid vaccines.

Seventeen export processing zones and industrial parks in HCMC have a total of 288,000 employees, with nearly 1,500 factories still operating. Currently, 242,000 people have received one vaccine shot while over 204,000 have been fully vaccinated.