Children aged 12-17 to receive COVID-19 booster five months from last dose: Health ministry

A student at Việt Đức High School in Hà Nội received COVID-19 vaccine in November 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese health ministry has issued guidelines for the administration of the third COVID-19 vaccine dose/booster for children aged 12-17.

According to the document signed by Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Liên Hương which has been sent to local health departments and Pasteur institutes and the hygiene and epidemiology institutes, the booster will be Pfizer shots (Comirnaty) that will be administered five months after the second dose.

The dosage is 0.3ml, the same as the standard dose in the primary course for this age group.

Booster shots can be delayed by three months after a COVID-19 infection.

The health ministry asked health departments to report the number of vaccines needed for this booster rollout by June 20, 2022, and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology must ensure sufficient supplies and allocation for localities.

Việt Nam has only cleared Pfizer shots for the primary course for children in this age group and the inoculation was rolled out in late October last year, starting first with HCM City after the country’s severe outbreak there began to ease.

To date, the country has administered over 225 million doses of vaccines, with first-dose and second-dose coverage in children 12-17 years reaching 100 per cent and 97 per cent approximately.

The health ministry also asked for the completion of third dose for adults and the rollout of primary courses of vaccines for children from five to under 12 years old within the second quarter of this year, in line with the Government’s request.

COVID-19 situation in Việt Nam has largely eased, with new daily cases dropping to one-year low and daily deaths averaging 0-1 in recent weeks thanks to near-complete vaccine uptake in the population aged 12 and above, but the health ministry insisted on further doses to protect against coronavirus variants and waning vaccine protection.

Most COVID-19 curbs have been lifted, save for public masking, while the border has completely reopened for foreign arrivals. — VNS