Ministry of Health does not require Covid vaccination for children 5-11 years old

According to the representative of the Ministry of Health, the consent of the child's parents is very important when implementing vaccination. The detailed results of the survey will be announced by the Ministry of Health after the Tet holiday. The Ministry of Health will carefully evaluate the short-term and long-term effects of the vaccine on children.

Regarding the progress of vaccine purchase, the representative of the Ministry of Health said that it has negotiated with Pfizer, the company that provided preliminary information on the use, dosage and price of the vaccine. From there, the Ministry of Health will synthesize, report to the Prime Minister, place an order according to the Government's direction, and then carry out vaccination cautiously.

It is still unclear when and how many children aged 5-11 will be vaccinated. Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said on January 31 that "it is not mandatory but recommended that people get vaccinated", and that he has consulted the experiences of other countries, coordinated with international organizations to assess the safety level, and authorized agencies to purchase vaccines for children. There are 37 countries that have planned and implemented vaccination, including some Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

Dr. Pham Quang Thai, Head of the Expanded Immunization Office in the North, said that children with Covid-19 do not have as severe a course as adults, but they may experience permanent sequelae that cause health problems and affect their development. Meanwhile, many vaccine trials have shown that children are guaranteed safety when vaccinated, because the dose is only one-third that of adults. Children aged 5-11 have mostly not entered puberty and have not undergone hormonal changes in their bodies, so side effects after vaccination are rare.

Additionally, vaccinating children helps reduce the risk of disease transmission in the community, which is the basis for safely reopening schools in the future.

"Therefore, children aged 5-11 should be vaccinated against Covid-19 to proactively protect their health and return to normal life soon," said Dr. Thai.

Medical staff inject Pfizer vaccine into students in Hanoi. Photo: Giang Huy

VnExpress has been surveying readers' opinions on vaccination for children from 5 years old for over a month. To date, 143,025 readers have participated, of which 30% agree with vaccination, equivalent to 43,151 votes. 68% disagree, equivalent to 96,688 votes and 2% have other opinions, equivalent to 3,186 votes.

Vietnam is implementing a spring vaccination campaign from February 1 to February 28, including Covid-19 vaccination for people over 18 years old, promoting the third dose and booster vaccination for children 12-17 years old. As of 6:00 p.m. on January 3, 181.6 million doses had been administered, of which 79 million doses were the first dose, 74.1 million doses were the second dose, and 28.3 million doses were the third dose (supplemental/booster injection and the 3rd basic dose).

On February 3, the Government issued a Resolution at the regular January meeting, requesting the Ministry of HealthUrgent purchase and injection of Covid-19 vaccinefor children from 5 to under 12 years old. Previously, the Ministry of Health proposedbuy 21.9 million doses of Pfizer vaccinefor vaccination, the time, plan and number of children aged 5-11 needing to be vaccinated have not been clearly stated. In December 2021, the Prime Minister assigned agencies to research vaccination plans for children aged 5 and above. Ho Chi Minh City has also proposed that the Ministry of Health allow vaccination of children aged 3-12 by the end of November 2021.