HCMC residents await second Covid-19 vaccine shots

By Huu Cong, Le Tuyet   August 28, 2021 | 09:51 pm PT
HCMC residents await second Covid-19 vaccine shots
People line up to receive Covid-19 vaccine shots in HCMC's District 11, August 2, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
With around 6 million having received their first shots, several HCMC districts say they are awaiting distribution of second Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Tran Phi Long, chairman of the District 11 People's Committee, said over 97 percent of the district's 171,000 population over 18 had received their first Covid-19 vaccine shots as of Saturday. About a week earlier, the district had given people above 65 and those with underlying conditions their second shots, amounting to around 11,000 people, he added.

"As for other segments of the population, the district has plans for them to be vaccinated, but we're waiting for the city to distribute more doses," Long said, adding that children aged 12-17 will be vaccinated once enough doses are available. Municipal authorities have sought opinions from the Ministry of Health regarding vaccination for this particular age-group.

Duong Hong Thang, chairman of the Hoc Mon District People's Committee, said around 81 percent of the district's over-18 population (around 400,000) have received their first shots. The figure could reach 90 percent if residents who have been vaccinated elsewhere are counted as well.

"The district's giving out second shots, but only a few hundred people aged above 65 and those with underlying conditions got them as there are very few doses remaining," he said.

Do Anh Khang, deputy chairman of the Go Vap District People's Committee, noted that the city portal mentions that the district has vaccinated around 43 percent of the population. Khang said this could be an understatement as many migrants who are eligible for vaccination have already moved out of the district.

Go Vap would need another 7-10 days to tally all the people aged 18 and above, and the district would then determine its actual vaccination percentage, Khang said, adding that he estimates it at around 70 percent.

So far, the district has only finished giving out second shots for frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight, he added.

Around 250,000 workers at the city's industrial parks and export processing zones are also awaiting second vaccine shots, after having received their first shots eight weeks ago.

Nguyen Van Be, chairman of HCMC EPZ and IP Business Association, said among the workers are 60,000 who are working in stay-at-work mode, while 190,000 others have been temporarily laid off or left for their hometowns.

Nguyen Hong Tam, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (CDC), has said Friday that the city aims to vaccinate 75 percent of its population aged above 18 in its current campaign. So far, the city has administered first doses to 5.8 million residents, he added. The city has a population of 13 million, including migrants.

 
 
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