The airline is conducting talks with the Ministry of Health and relevant entities to buy Covid-19 vaccines for all its employees and their families as soon as possible, Vietnam News Agency cited the representative as saying.

Only the health ministry reserves the right to collaborate with relevant authorities to buy, import, receive, sponsor and administer Covid-19 vaccines, according to a governmental resolution. If Vietnam Airlines were to secure Covid-19 jabs, it would also need to be distributed by the ministry itself.

The vaccines would be provided for free to employees of Vietnam Airlines Group, which includes Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and Vasco. Their family members would be supported regarding procedures to get vaccine jabs at the same time.

Since airline staff stand a higher chance of contracting the coronavirus, the decision would help protect them and their customers, allowing for peace of mind on the job, the representative said.

With over 22,000 employees, the national carrier expects to receive hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 vaccine shots.

Vietnam began its mass Covid-19 vaccination program earlier this month, starting with frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight. As of Wednesday, over 38,000 Vietnamese have received their first Covid-19 vaccine jab produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

The country aims to secure around 150 million vaccine doses to cover 70 percent of its population this year.