Health ministry plans for vaccinating children aged 5-11

A student in Tam Dao town, Vinh Phuc province receives a COVID-19 vaccine shot. Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – With over 90 percent of the adult population having
received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines and the ongoing campaign for
children aged 12-17 years, the is planning to buy shots for
.

Deputy
Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said the ministry has developed a plan to
inoculate young children in this age group and has submitted the plan to the
Government.

Once
the Government gives the nod, it would immediately work with suppliers to
secure a sufficient amount at the earliest time to get the vaccination process
started, Tuyen said during a recent discussion hosted by the Vietnam Government
Portal, without elaborating further about the types of vaccines to be used
or the logistics involved.

Vietnam,
with a population of about 100 million people, as of January 2 has
received 195 million doses of vaccines, including 68 million as aid,
out of the committed 227 million doses. Over 155 million doses have been
administered so far.

Seventy-four percent
of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine (99 percent of
adults have had at least one dose), and 70 percent have been fully vaccinated,
basically meeting the WHO’s recommendations six months ahead of schedule.

In
2022, Tuyen said the health ministry will focus on offering third shots for
high-risk groups like patients with HIV, kidney failure, hepatitis B,
cirrhosis, etc. in addition to pushing coverage of vaccines for children,
now that the country has enough doses needed for the .

The
official noted that in the inoculation efforts for children, the role of
parents is important in bringing their children to get the shots in line with
the health ministry’s guidelines.

Tuyen
said the current vaccination progress along with plans for additional/booster
shots will help to ensure the success of the Government’s safe, flexible
adaptation to and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic – meant to be a
mindset shift from the previous so-called Zero COVID strategy – to
achieve both pandemic prevention and control and socio-economic development.

In
a COVID-19 report which the Government submitted to the National Assembly
during the ongoing extraordinary session, it says efforts are being made to
ensure no people above 50 years or people with underlying health issues remain
unvaccinated, complete the administration of second doses for children aged
12-17 in January 2022, and third doses for adults within the first quarter of
the year.

Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu said vaccine diplomacy was a highlight,
given that the vaccine shortage has still been an issue, especially during the
times of outbreaks, contributing to Vietnam’s high vaccination rate./.