At a vaccination site in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City has basically completed giving the first shots ofCOVID-19 vaccines to those aged above 18 while new infections are on the decrease,the municipal Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control told apress conference on September 16.
Deputy Director ofthe municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Nguyen Hong Tam said asof September 15, the city gave 8,452,609 vaccine shots, including 6,667,018 first and1,785,591 second shots. As many as 969,451 people aged above 65 and havingunderlying diseases were vaccinated.
Deputy Director of the municipal Health Department Nguyen Hoai Nam said thecity is seeking approval from the Health Ministry to reduce the time betweentwo AstraZeneca COVID-19 shots from the usual eight to 12 weeks down to sixweeks to speed up immunisation.
According to him, the city has been conducting large-scale testing, which is the reason why the number of COVID-19 cases recorded in recent days remain high, fluctuating at between 4,000 - 6,000 a day. However, the rate of infections among tests has dropped remarkably, from 3.6 percent during the first testing drive in high-risk areas (classified as red and orange areas) from August 23-27 to 2.7 percent in the second drive and 1.1 percent in the third drive.
Nam said mass testing will continue with at least twice or thrice more to discover all infections in the community.
From 0am on September 16, the city adjusted several social distancing measures depending on areas till September 30, allowing shippers to deliver goods across districts but they must test for COVID-19 every two days and follow prevention andcontrol measures.
Sen. Lieut. Col Le Manh Ha from the municipal Department of PublicSecurity said travel permits have also been issued to qualified residents.
Deputy Director of the municipalDepartment of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nguyen Phuong said about 30,000shippers in the city had received one vaccine shot. The number of registeredshippers could increase in the near future, making it easier for residents toplace orders./.
