The Ministry of Health (MoH) has asked the Government’s permission to give A/H1N1 flu vaccines to pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and medical workers who are directly involved in flu prevention and control, said a ministry official.

At a meeting of the National Steering Board on Flu Prevention in Humans in Hanoi on Oct. 21, Head of the MoH’s Department of Preventive Medicine and the Environment Nguyen Huy Nga said that the vaccination is designed to prevent fatalities due to A/H1N1 flu in this high-risk group.

According to its three plans presented to the Government, the first plan is intended to vaccinate 909,820 people against the disease in 10 provinces and cities which accommodate important transport routes and see a wide spread of the disease, the second, more than 1.52 million people in 20 populous provinces and cities with the disease spreading in the community and the third, 3.26 million people in the high-risk group in 63 provinces and cities.

The ministry will import 500,000 doses of A/H1N1 flu vaccine to serve its purposes in the fourth quarter of the year. Additionally, Vietnam will receive around 1 million doses from the World Health Organisation (WHO) next year to vaccinate 2 percent of its population. The world’s biggest health organisation will continue calling on the international community to help Vietnam vaccinate around 10 percent of its population against the pandemic.

Vietnam has confirmed 10,267 cases of A/H1N1 influenza infection in 59 provinces and cities nationwide, resulting in 25 deaths, as of October 20. A total of 9,914 people have been discharged from the hospital./.