Vietnam on verge of 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses milestone

Releasing this information, the Health Ministry also said both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have both fully covered more than 80 percent of their adult populations.

The southern province of Long An is the first locality that has completed the second jab for 100 percent of its adult population. It is followed in this regard by Khanh Hoa with a coverage of 96 percent.

The provinces and cities that have given the first jab for their entire 18 plus population are: Hanoi, HCMC, Dong Nai, Long An, Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Lam Dong, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Da Nang, Vinh Long, Hau Giang and Khanh Hoa.

The eight Covid-19 vaccines Vietnam has been using are AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Vero Cell, Hayat-Vax, Abdala and SputnikV.

Vietnam started its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in March 2021 with the first doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine administered to frontline forces in Hanoi, HCMC and the northern province of Hai Duong, then a Covid hotspot.

Many localities speeded up the vaccination rollout since late August at the health ministry’s urging.

At a Nov. 8 National Assembly session, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said Vietnam has had contracts and agreements to secure around 200 Covid-19 vaccine doses, and 125 million of these have arrived.

This will ensure that the nation's 18-year-old-plus population is fully vaccinated by the end of this year, he added.

Vietnam plans to begin giving Covid-19 booster shots either at the end of 2021 or early 2022, prioritizing elderly people and frontline workers.

It is one of the 20 countries in the world with the highest number of vaccination shots administered, ranking second in Southeast Asia after Indonesia.

The nation is also one of the three countries with the fastest injection rate in the region with more than 2 million doses on peak days.

At the Nov.10 National Assembly session, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that the northern region still lacked 23 million doses to administer the second dose for adults; the central region 5 million more doses; the Central Highlands 2.5 million doses; and southern region needs 4 million doses. The required vaccine doses are expected to become available this month, he said.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for the vaccination campaign to be speeded up at a recent cabinet meeting, specifying that localities use all imported vaccine doses this month.