Conditions for getting Covid-19 vaccine

Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, Ministry of Health, Luong Ngoc Khue, requested 21 priority hospitals for vaccination such as Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Facility 2, Quang Ninh Field Hospital 2, Hai Duong Field Hospital, Cu Chi Field Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Hospital, Gia Lai Provincial Field Hospital... to make a specific list of people to be vaccinated.

"Absolutely do not include family members, relatives, or acquaintances on this list. Only doctors and medical staff who work directly to treat patients should be included," Mr. Khue emphasized.

Mr. Khue also said that experts at the Treatment Subcommittee, National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, did notvaccination in the first phase, giving priority to doctors, nurses, and medical staff at facilities directly treating Covid-19 patients.

A batch of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine stored at the cold storage of Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company on the night of March 5, preparing to be distributed to vaccination sites. Photo: Huu Khoa.

Vaccination safety conditions

The Ministry of Health recommends that a person2 dosesAstraZeneca vaccine, each dose is 28 days apart. If you get a Covid-19 vaccine other than AstraZeneca, there must be at least 14 days between doses. However, the Ministry recommends getting the same vaccine. Currently, Vietnam only has one Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca, the two domestic vaccines being tested on humans are Nanocovax and Covivac.

People who are vaccinated are screened before vaccination. If they have a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, they will not be vaccinated, and are advised not to come to the vaccination site. During the screening, people who are vaccinated must inform medical staff about their medical history, acute and chronic infections that require treatment, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and a history of allergies or anaphylaxis.

When receiving the second injection, if the person receiving the injection shows signs of a severe reaction to the previous injection, they need to notify the person to postpone the injection or receive specific instructions. In case of Covid-19 infection, they must be cured and then receive the vaccine after 6 months. The reason is that people with Covid-19 have a certain immunity to the disease.

Vaccination sites must prepare adequate facilities and cold chains to preserve vaccines to meet requirements. Vaccination sites must also be equipped with anti-shock boxes to prevent post-vaccination complications.

In the first phase, each vaccination point will have less than 100 people per session to ensure safety.

Post-injection reactions

Associate Professor Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine is currently being deployed in 25 countries, administered intramuscularly to people aged 18 and over, and there is no upper age limit. After vaccinationreactions may occurSpecifically, the most common (over 10%) are symptoms such as headache, nausea, muscle pain, joint pain, pain sensitivity, hot pain at the injection site, fatigue, restlessness, fever (commonly mild fever, above 38 degrees Celsius), chills...

In addition, about 1 to less than 10% of people who have been vaccinated have symptoms of swelling and redness at the injection site. Like other vaccines that have been used for many years, the Covid-19 vaccine can cause serious complications such as anaphylactic shock when introduced into the body. Some people may have a delayed reaction after vaccination, but there is currently no data from international organizations on this issue, as well as serious adverse events after vaccination.

AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine will begin to be administered on March 8.injection in Vietnam. Ministry of Health prioritizes vaccines for11 groups of peopledirectly fight the epidemic and the provinces and cities where the epidemic is occurring.