An overview of the press conference (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong has said COVID-19 vaccination will begin right after the Ministry of Health receives an accreditation certificate from the Republic of Korea(RoK), scheduled for late this week or early next week.
At the Government’sregular press conference in Hanoi on March 2, Cuong said the first batch ofAstraZeneca vaccine, manufactured in the RoK, arrived in Vietnam on February 24.The Ministry of Health assignedthe National Institute for Control of Vaccine and Biologicals to verify thebatch of vaccine, which has been basically completed. It is now waiting for an accreditation certificate from the RoK before beginning the vaccination.
According to the official, thevaccination is in line with the Government’s Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP on the purchaseand use of COVID-19 vaccines, which details nine priority groups for freeinoculation.
Besides these groups, pandemic-hit localities will also be prioritised and HaiDuong province will be one of the first provinces and cities to get access to the vaccine.
According to the Resolution, individualsand organisations are also encouraged to voluntarily pay for vaccine shots.
When more vaccines are available, theGovernment is ready to expand inoculation for all having demand to achieve community immunisation.
As scheduled, another batch of AstraZeneca vaccine along withCOVAX Facility vaccine will be delivered in late April. The ministry has prepared infrastructureand resources for storage and vaccination, he said./.
