The HCMC health department has asked for 8,000 additional doses to vaccinate all staff at Tan Son Nhat airport and quarantine centers. 

The request was made by Nguyen Tan Binh, director of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Health, in a Friday meeting with Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen.

Nguyen Chi Dung, Director of the HCMC Center for Disease Control (HCDC), said there were 40 hotels operating as quarantine centers, charging for the service. Some of them have had people test positive for the novel coronavirus. Therefore, the hotel workers need to be listed in the vaccination priority group, he said.

As of now, local authorities have prepared nearly 4,000 quarantine beds in hotels (with fees) and 378 beds at military facilities to serve Vietnamese repatriated from other countries in April and June.

Staff screen arrivals at Tan Son Nhat Airport in March 2020.
Photo by VnExpress/ Huu Khoa.

The city has carried out vaccination programs at eight hospitals so far, administering over 1,200 shots. The first part of the program will be completed in mid-April.

Deputy Minister Tuyen agreed that people at high risk of getting infected should be vaccinated along with medical staff. The city also needs to speed up its vaccination schedule and ensure careful screening, he said.

At the national level, over 42,200 people have completed their vaccination program so far. Most of them are medical staff and workers at local epidemic prevention agencies.