Nearly 40,000 Vietnamese get COVID-19 vaccine with no serious side-effects
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| Nearly 40,000 Vietnamese get COVID-19 vaccine with no serious side-effects |
According to the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation, the first to be inoculated are those on the frontline against the pandemic – doctors, nurses directly treating COVID-19 patients, medical workers who collect clinical samples and test for COVID-19, contact tracers, and members of community anti-COVID-19 groups.
Vietnam has begun to roll out its COVID-19 vaccination campaign starting on March 8, using doses from the first batch of 117,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca that arrived in the country on February 24. The COVID-19 vaccination program was carried out in 19 provinces and cities in the first phase.
Initial reports from the vaccination sites indicate no serious post-injection reactions. According to the Ministry of Health, several cases of anaphylaxis have been reported and they have all been handled promptly.
The Ministry of Health said its working delegation will inspect COVID-19 prevention and control, and vaccination in Hanoi on March 25. Meanwhile, the northern province of Quang Ninh and the southern provinces of Tay Ninh and Dong Thap are set to carry out the injection this week.
Vietnam is expected to acquire 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from foreign and domestic sources by 2022. In addition to the deal with AstraZeneca, the nation is also accelerating negotiations with US vaccine producers Pfizer and Moderna, along with others from Russia.
