According to the HCMC Department of Health, the city vaccinated more than 262,000 people on Saturday. From July 22 to August 7, the city has administered vaccine doses to over 2.1 million people.

The number of vaccine doses that the city has received from the Ministry of Health since July 22 is around 2.59 million. The health department says that at the current rapid vaccination rate, if more doses are not distributed in time, the city could run out by the end of Monday.

Vaccination in HCMC has been sped up since July 22. In addition to priority groups, the city has opened up access to everyone above 18, with support from private healthcare facilities. Some procedures have been shortened to speed up the process. The number of vaccination teams has been doubled to 1,200.

On August 3, the People's Committee of HCMC sent a proposal to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam for the provision of another 5.5 million doses of vaccine from August 5 to 31. It has said that the city needs to administer an average of 210,000 doses of vaccine per day to reach the goal of vaccinating seven million adults in the city.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Health to continue to prioritize provision of vaccines for southern localities, including HCMC; as also prepare a plan to allocate subsequent batches.

So far, HCMC has received the highest number of vaccine doses in the country at more than four million doses. The vaccination distribution rate on the city's population is 21 percent, although only around 1 percent have been fully vaccinated.

HCMC is the biggest epicenter in the ongoing wave, with over 121,804 cases recorded since April 27. It has imposed a social distancing order for more than two months so far.