The request was made amid the rising number of COVID-19infections, with the detection of some new sub-variant of Omicron. Meanwhile,many localities have yet to complete the injection of the vaccines they hadreceived.
According to the statement, the Acting Minister of HealthDao Hong Lan was asked to drastically direct the healthcare system from thecentral to the local levels to ensure COVID-19 vaccination progress and study the demands of particular locality until the end of the third quarter foradequate vaccine allocation.
The Ministry of Health was requested to coordinate with theMinistry of Information and Communications as well as relevant agencies toencourage people to get COVID-19 vaccine shots as scheduled.
Leaders of the People’s Committees of cities and provinceswere assigned to direct the vaccination activities and bear the responsibilitybefore the Party, State and the law on the results.
The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology reportedthat 21.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have yet to be administered,mostly Pfizer and Moderna. At the same time, 16 out of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide have yet tosubmit their registration of vaccine demand for the last six months of the yearas requested by the Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, the progress of the injection of the first andsecond booster doses as well as the vaccination of children between 5-11years old have lagged behind scheduled.
Representatives of the World Health Organisation and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in Vietnamunderlined that COVID-19 is still a global public health emergency, stressingthat vaccination is still an effective measure against BA.4 and BA.5, alongwith influenza A and common flu./.
VNA