Mekong Delta to receive 15,000 Covid vaccine doses as outbreak threatens

These doses would be derived from the 43,700 originally intended for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of northern Hai Duong Province, a Covid hotspot during the latest wave that erupted in late January.

In the Mekong Delta, Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Soc Trang Provinces will receive 2,000 doses each; Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau 1,800.

Their vaccination must be completed before May 5, the ministry stressed.

Vietnamese officials have warned of a possible outbreak in southern Vietnam given the situation in the neighboring Cambodia, which until recently had one of the world's lowest numbers of infections. Cambodia has reported 79 deaths, all in the past two months. It had just around 400 infections until last year, but the number has surpassed 10,000.

Previously, southern Vietnam had already received over 245,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses in early April. Tien Giang received 9,600 doses from this batch, Ben Tre 7,300, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh 5,600 each, Hau Giang 3,900, Bac Lieu 5,100 and Ca Mau 6,700.

Earlier this month, the health ministry also decided to provide An Giang and Kien Giang 2,200 doses each. Both provinces share a border with Cambodia.

So far, around 260,000 Vietnamese have been inoculated against Covid-19 with a vaccine produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. Most are frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight, including doctors, nurses, soldiers and police officers.