Vietnam gives all adults 1st Covid shot, 93 percent get 2nd

As of January 12 some 163.5 million shots had been administered, with 78.4 million people getting one jab and 71.5 million and 13.6 million getting their second and third, according to the Ministry of Health.

It means 93 percent of the population has received at least two shots.

In the case of children under 18, eight million have got one shots and six million have got a second, with 90 percent of those aged 12-17 getting one and 68 percent being fully vaccinated.

The government plans to fully vaccinate everyone aged 12-17 this month, and give adults booster shots within the first quarter of the year.

Vietnam is among the top six countries in the world in terms of vaccination rate, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said on January 5.

Despite the high vaccination rate, Vietnam has seen a surge in the number of infections, around 17,000 a day, compared to around 3,700 daily cases three months prior.

Around 213 deaths a day on average were recorded in the past seven days, compared to around 101 three months prior.

Experts have attributed the rise in the number of new cases to the fact that Vietnam has reopened to adapt to the coronavirus, while the majority of deaths are those who are either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.