Hanoi accelerates COVID-19 vaccine rollout for high-risk people

Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi authorities have been urging all its districts to make records of people at a high risk of contracting COVID-19 and give them vaccine booster shots, according to a notice signed by Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh on February 13.

They asked local administrations to continue encouraging high-risk and vaccine-hesitant people to get double vaccinated and ramp up at-home inoculations for homebound people who are aged above 50 with underlying health conditions, or at a high risk of severe illness from the COVID-19, the notice said.

The move aims to accelerate the city’s COVID-19 vaccination for vulnerable people and reduce the hospitalisation and death rates.

Chairman Anh also ordered the local administrations to hasten the injection of additional and booster shots for high-risk people and those living with these people as part of the “spring vaccination drive" from January 29 to February 28. Vietnam sets to complete the inoculation of additional and booster doses in the first quarter of this year.

Chairmen of the district-level People’s Committees must be held accountable if any high-risk citizen is left missing out on COVID-19 vaccination, the notice said.

Over 99.5 percent of the people aged over 12 in Hanoi have been double vaccinated and nearly 55 percent have received boosters. A majority of the COVID-19 cases are mild or show no symptoms while most of the deaths are senior citizens with severe underlying medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases and final stage of cancer./.