Viet Nam sets to begin COVID-19 vaccinations on March 8, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long at the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Friday. 

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the meeting of the National
Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control,
Ha Noi, March 5, 2021. Photo: VGP

The vaccine will be administered first to health workers at 18 medical establishments where COVID-19 patients are being treated and the coronavirus-hit areas, Long added.

He said it is difficult to have enough vaccine supply from foreign partners, thus the nation needs to focus on accelerating research and development of homegrown vaccines.

The Ministry expected to receive 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021, half of which has been committed by the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) program.

The remaining 30 million doses have been agreed upon by the Health Ministry and the UK-based AstraZeneca company.

The first batch of 117,600 Oxford/AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on February 24.

Last month, the Government issued Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP on purchase and use of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.

Under the Resolution, the Government assigned the Ministry of Health to take prime responsibility and coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies and localities in purchasing, receiving donated vaccines and using the vaccines.

Resolution specifies priority groups and areas subject to free vaccination as follows:

For priority groups:

+ Front liners: Healthcare workers, those who join COVID-19 prevention and control work (members of steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control at all levels, staff at designated quarantine sites, those who carry out contract tracing and epidemiological investigations, volunteers, reporters among others), military and public security forces

+ Vietnamese diplomats, customs and immigration officers

+  Essential service workers in such sectors like aviation, transport, tourism, electricity and water supply, etc

+ Teachers and those who work at education and training facilities, those who work at State agencies and have regular contact with various people

+ People with chronic illnesses, people aged above 65

+ Residents in pandemic-hit areas

+ Poor people, policy beneficiaries

+ Those who will be sent abroad for learning and working

+ Other people decided by the Ministry of Health depending on COVID-19 situation

For priority areas

Priority will be given to coronavirus-hit provinces and cities.

In a locality, those in the pandemic-hit areas will be vaccinated first.

So far, Viet Nam has confirmed 2,421 COVID-19 infection cases, including 827 local cases since January 27, 2021 when the third wave of local transmissions emerged./.