A woman was vaccinated in Ho Chi Minh City on August 4. Photo: Truong Thanh Tung.

According to Vice Chairman Duc, the city - Vietnam’s current largest COVID-19 hotspot - has about 7 million people aged 18 and over who need to be vaccinated. So far, the city has administered 2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. About 800,000 people received the first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine before June 30, and about 25,000 people got the first dose of Moderna vaccine before July 31. These people need to get the second shot by the last week of August. The city needs about 5.5 million doses this month.

Duc proposed that Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam direct the Ministry of Health to allocate enough vaccines to HCM City, and at the same time inform the city of the allocated vaccine quantity early, so that it can promptly take the initiative in the vaccination plan.

According to the HCM City Vice Chairman, the vaccines will be administered during the 6th round of vaccination.

Ho Chi Minh City finished the 5th round of vaccination on August 2, with 930,000 doses allocated by the Ministry of Health. The 6th round of vaccination kicked off on August 3. This round will last through August with three type of vaccines - AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna.

According to the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, as many as 175,432 vaccine doses were administered on August 3. From July 22 through August 3, more than 1 million people in HCM City were vaccinated.

On August 3, HCM City was allocated an additional 978,500 doses by the Ministry of Health. In the last 3 phases of vaccine distribution, the city was granted 1,148,500 doses. In addition, hospitals and some agencies and organizations in Ho Chi Minh City were provided with 40,000 doses.

The municipal Department of Health has issued instructions on vaccine mixing. Accordingly, it is best to use the same type of vaccine for both jabs. In case the vaccine source is limited, another type of vaccine can be used for the second shot. For example, those who got AstraZeneca vaccine for the first dose can be vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine for the second jab, but the interval between two shots should be 8-12 weeks.

For those who received the first dose with Sinopharm, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, the second dose must be used with the same type of vaccine. The interval between the two jabs is according to the manufacturer's instructions.

In the latest news, the Department of Health of HCM City has asked healthcare units throughout the city to quickly administer all doses of Pfizer and Moderna before August 8 in order to effectively use the Covid-19 vaccines.

According to the Mnistry of Health, the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines are kept at 2-8 degrees Celsius and used within 30 days.

The health department sent an urgent dispatch requiring People’s Committees and healthcare centers of districts and Thu Duc City, the HCMC’s Center for Disease Control (HCDC), State and private hospitals to promptly implement the vaccination with Pfizer and Moderna's jabs.

From 2 pm on July 22 to 7:30 am on August 5, 1,292,880 people in the city received Covid-19 vaccine shots. 1,918 people had allergic reactions after vaccination.

On August 4, 170,560 people were vaccinated. The HCM City Center for Disease Control has stored 695,500 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and one million doses of Vero Cell vaccines produced by China’s Sinopharm under evaluation.

Ho Van

Health Ministry allocates 980,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City has received the largest number of Covid-19 vaccine doses in the country, with a total so far of nearly 4.1 million doses.