Who is prioritized for Covid-19 vaccination in Vietnam?
The Ministry of Health has arranged 11 groups of people to be vaccinated against Covid-19 first according to the priority of the epidemic situation and in the context of limited vaccine sources in Vietnam.
The guidelines on approving the plan for receiving, preserving, distributing and using Covid-19 vaccines in the 2021-2022 period supported by Covax Facility, have just been signed and issued by Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen. Accordingly, 11 priority groups will be arranged to be vaccinated first, including:
- Healthcare staff.
- Staff participating in epidemic prevention (Steering Committees at all levels, staff of quarantine areas, reporters...).
- Diplomats, customs officers, immigration officers.
- Military forces.
- Police force.
- Teacher.
- People over 65 years old.
- Group providing essential services: aviation, transportation, tourism; providing electricity, water services...
- People with chronic diseases.
- People who need to work, study or work abroad.
- People in epidemic areas according to epidemiological indications.
Covax is expected to supply Vietnam with more than 4.8 million doses, including 25-35% in the first quarter and 65-75% in the second quarter.
In the first quarter, about 1.2 million doses are expected to be injected into about 500,000 medical workers and about 116,000 employees participating in epidemic prevention.
In the second quarter, Covax will provide about 3.6 million doses, equivalent to 1.8 million people. Of these, it is expected that about 9,200 customs officers, 4,080 diplomatic staff, 1,027,000 military forces, 304,000 police forces, and 550,000 teachers will be vaccinated.
In the third quarter, about 33 million doses will be administered to 16 million people. Specifically, this number of vaccines will be for about 750,000 teachers, 7,600,000 people over 65 years old, 1,930,000 people providing essential services (customs, diplomacy, aviation, transport, tourism) and 7,000,000 adults with chronic diseases.
According to this guideline, the vaccine will be deployed nationwide, with priority ranging from high risk to low risk based on the following criteria: areas recording Covid-19 cases/deaths; large urban areas with high population density; and provinces with important traffic hubs.
According to the Ministry of Health, the vaccine supported by Covax Facility for Vietnam is produced by AstraZeneca Group with storage conditions of 2-8°C. This vaccine is supported with free import, and is imported through Noi Bai International Airport or Ho Chi Minh City, cleared immediately after the vaccine arrives at the airport and transferred to the National Warehouse or regional warehouse before being transferred to lower levels.
Currently, Vietnam's existing cold chain system consists mainly of equipment for preserving vaccines at 2-8°C, and is estimated to be able to preserve about 122 million doses. In February and March, the Expanded Immunization Project will develop a plan to strengthen the cold chain for all routes to ensure sufficient capacity for preserving and transporting vaccines, report to the Ministry of Health, and mobilize support from domestic and foreign organizations.
The vaccine produced by AstraZeneca Group uses 2 doses for people over 18 years old, 21 days apart, intramuscular injection.
Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said Vietnam needs 150 million doses (two injections per person) for people in 2021.
In addition to the 30 million doses donated, Vietnam has ordered and received approval to purchase 30 million doses also from AstraZeneca. The first batch of these 30 million doses will arrive in Vietnam in the next few days. Thus, Vietnam will have a total of 60 million doses of vaccine in 2021. The Ministry of Health is actively negotiating with other companies such as Pfizer, Moderna, Russia and several other countries to get more vaccines.
Previously, on February 1, the Ministry of Health approved AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the fight against the pandemic. The vaccine has been licensed for one year of circulation or conditional import in the Philippines, Thailand, the UK, Vietnam and several other countries.
