Vietnam among six countries with highest vaccine coverage rate: govt data

In late April last year, when the fourth Covid-19 wave emerged, Vietnam had administered only 320,000 vaccine doses and by last October, as many as 47 million, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh announced at a government meeting Wednesday.

To date, Vietnam has covered all people over 18 with the first shot and offered 90 percent of them the second dose.

For those aged 12-17, 86 percent have been administered the first shot and 57 percent, the second.

By Tuesday, 69.6 million of the nation’s 96-million population had been vaccinated with two doses.

For now, Vietnam is one of six countries with the highest vaccine coverage rate in the world, the Deputy PM said.

Vietnam has developed a vaccine strategy and promoted vaccine diplomacy, established a vaccine fund to actively import vaccines and study vaccine production technologies.

To fight Covid-19, the country has launched the largest free vaccination campaign ever to inoculate its entire population, the deputy PM added.

He said in October last year, the government had issued regulations on safe adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

These regulations “have been supported by the people, and considered by many experts and international organizations as an important decision to create a foundation for economic recovery and development in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022”.

The regulation sees Covid-19 vaccine coverage as the foundation for reopening, requesting that people must show proof of having two vaccine doses to engage in a number of activities.