Health ministry to stop supply to provinces tardy in collecting vaccines

Following reports from the National Institute Of Hygiene And Epidemiology in Hanoi and the Pasteur Institute in HCMC that many have yet to collect the vaccines they have been allocated from their warehouses, the ministry has said all localities that need to administer the vaccines between August 8 and 13 should collect them immediately.

"If they fail to collect, after Sunday the ministry will transfer the vaccines to others and consider not allocating them vaccines for future campaigns."

The ministry also called on all provinces and cities that have received vaccines to speed up immunization given that the Covid outbreak is worsening and Vietnam is set to receive more vaccines soon.

Earlier the ministry has said that localities and Covid-19 vaccination units too slow at administering shots would have their vaccine doses given away for others to use.

As of August 6 the country has received 19 million doses.

It has administered more than eight million of them, with 820,000 people getting both doses.

More than 10 percent of people aged over 18 have received at least one shot.

The Covid tally in the fourth wave that began in late April is 193,216.