People’s support decisive to vaccination coverage expansion: official

A boy get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – People’sconsensus and support is the prerequisite for quickly expanding the vaccinationcoverage to effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong told the Government’s press briefing on September 6.

Recently, thePrime Minister has issued many directions demanding vaccination acceleration. He stressed at an August 6 meeting of the National Steering Committee forCOVID-19 Prevention and Control that getting vaccinated is the responsibility,obligation, and right of all people.

Huong said by the end of September 5,Vietnam had administered more than 257 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. It isnow one of the countries with the largest vaccination coverage as almost 100%of people aged 12 and above have received the first or second doses, and 56% ofthe population the third doses – doubling the global average.

About 85.4% ofchildren aged 5 - 11 have been injected with the first doses, meeting thetarget set by the PM, statistics show.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong speaks at the Government’s press briefing on September 6. (Photo: VNA)

The official noted thanksto enhanced vaccination and anti-COVID-19 efforts, the pandemic has beenbasically brought under control and the country has returned to the normalstatus.

However, the numberof new infections has been rebounding nationwide with the appearance of somenew sub-variants of Omicron that are more contagious and can evade the immunesystem.

Given this, peopleare recommended to have their children inoculated fully and on schedule. Inparticular, the children with comorbidities and high risk are the prioritygroup, the Deputy Minister emphasised./.

VNA