At present, the ministry has not decided which vaccine to choose yet, but will use vaccines that have been thoroughly researched and are safe for children. In addition, it will consult all studies in the world to apply, in order to create the best conditions for all vaccines applied to children in Vietnam.

The inoculation process will depend on the vaccine supply and the pandemic situation in each locality, the ministry said.

Prof. Dang Duc Anh, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that there are currently two vaccines that can be given to children, namely the vaccine of Pfizer, which is given to children aged 12-18, and that of Sinopharm which can be given to children from 3 years of age and older as recommended by the producer.

Currently, the health sector is carrying out guidelines or plans to launch an vaccination drive for children as soon as possible.

According to Dr Kidong Park, World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Vietnam, WHO recommends that children with severe chronic diseases can be vaccinated against COVID-19 if there is enough supply.

Vietnam is now home to over 8.1 million children aged between 12-17. According to statistics of the health sector, there are more than 20,000 under-15 children with COVID-19 being treated at medical facilities nationwide, not to mention those who have no symptoms, or have mild illness only and are being treated at home./.

Source: VNA