A medical staff prepares to inject Covid-19 vaccine into a person
in Hanoi on July 28, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy. 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed the Ministry of Health to negotiate and buy vaccines for four industry trade groups to immunize their workers. 

The Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, and Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City, last week asked to buy Covid-19 vaccines from a company in the UAE to vaccinate their workers this month and ensure production is not disrupted.

The groups will pay for the vaccines.

The four industries together export nearly $150 billion worth of products annually, or nearly 60 percent of the country’s total.

They employ eight million workers, and another 12.5 million indirectly earn a livelihood from them.

Vietnam has vaccinated 8.5 million people, but only 863,000 have received both doses.