Vietnam is one of the six countries with the highest vaccination coverage rate in the world.
In just one year, from the date of the first COVID-19 vaccine injection (March 8, 2021) to March 6, 2022, Vietnam has received more than 219 million doses of vaccine and administered more than 197.5 million doses.
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| Medical staff inject COVID-19 vaccine for people. Photo: Minh Quyet/VNA |
Vietnam has successfully implemented the "latecomer - earlycomer" vaccine strategy with the largest vaccination campaign ever, becoming one of the six countries with the highest vaccination coverage rate in the world.
Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said so at the launching ceremony of the "Safe Journey" campaign, which took place on March 7, launched by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Researching and implementing the 4th vaccine injection
At the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen shared about the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in accelerating the rate of COVID-19 vaccination, contributing effectively to safe and flexible adaptation and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic.
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| Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen. Photo: Pham Kien/VNA |
In just one year, from the date of the first COVID-19 vaccine injection (March 8, 2021) to March 6, 2022, Vietnam has received more than 219 million doses of vaccine, and administered more than 197.5 million doses; of which 100% of people aged 18 and over have received the first dose, 98.7% have received the second dose, and 38.4% have received the third dose. Children aged 12-17 have received the first dose at 99%, and the second dose at 93.8%.
According to Deputy Minister Tuyen, in the coming time, Vietnam will implement a plan to vaccinate children from 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19 and is researching the implementation of the 4th vaccine dose. However, the COVID-19 epidemic continues to develop unpredictably. The Ministry of Health hopes and calls on every Vietnamese person to join hands to prevent and fight the COVID-19 epidemic, by participating in full COVID-19 vaccination according to the recommendations of the health sector and implementing the 5K message well, especially hand sanitizer, wearing masks, and avoiding crowded gatherings.
Dr. Kidong Park - WHO Representative in Vietnam analyzed: “The current rapid increase in COVID-19 cases shows us that the pandemic is not over yet. We need to continue to adhere to epidemic prevention measures, including ensuring that everyone is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Through the "Safe Journey" campaign, we continue to provide accurate and reliable information to play an important role in maintaining the journey to save lives, prevent severe illness requiring hospitalization and help people stay healthy during the pandemic outbreak".
Ms. Rana Flowers - UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam, said that together with partners at the Ministry of Health and WHO, UNICEF recognizes that vaccination combined with preventive practices has proven successful in significantly reducing deaths and severe cases. The "Safe Journey" campaign will bring important information to every corner of Viet Nam, especially to vulnerable groups, building trust in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for all ages who need to be vaccinated.
“Our goal is to ensure that no one is left behind in these efforts, over time, including children aged five and above. With the strong support of the Australian Government, UNICEF will continue to work closely with the Ministry of Health to help make this happen,” Ms. Rana Flowers emphasized.
Vietnam has more than 4.4 million people infected with the disease.
Two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have created unprecedented challenges, severely impacting the economy and society in Vietnam as well as globally.
As of March 6, Vietnam had more than 4.4 million people infected, ranking 21st out of 225 countries and territories in terms of the number of cases and 134th out of 225 countries and territories in terms of the number of cases per million people; of which 40,813 patients have died.
The “Safe Journey” campaign was launched to highlight and reinforce the importance of everyone complying with COVID-19 prevention practices, including COVID-19 vaccination in Vietnam.
The campaign calls on everyone to maintain preventive measures, such as the 5K message, and encourages COVID-19 vaccination for all population groups that need to be vaccinated to effectively contribute to preventing the outbreak of the disease.
The Program's Organizing Committee said that the campaign, which will be implemented over 6 months, will actively contribute to the process of "Safely and flexibly adapting to and effectively controlling the COVID-19 epidemic" that Vietnam is vigorously implementing.
Campaign communications messages will be delivered through television and radio programmes, print and social media activities, ensuring that information is as accessible as possible. Information will also be delivered in major ethnic languages as well as sign language, and campaign activities and communications content will be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate to respond to the rapidly changing pandemic situation.
With support from the Australian Government, the campaign is part of UNICEF’s ongoing response to COVID-19 in Vietnam, including vaccination, support for vulnerable groups, community communications and cold chain support.
TikTok Vietnam will provide important support to help spread the campaign across its channels. In addition, the Facebook pages of UNICEF, the Ministry of Health and WHO will share the campaign message to a total of more than one million followers. Several other community groups on COVID-19 prevention will also help spread the campaign messages./.
