The Ministry of Health on June 17 announced it will distribute a total of 966,320 doses of AstraZenaca coronavirus vaccine to local Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs), hospitals and medical units, among others, across the country.

The Ho Chi Minh City CDC is the largest recipient in this distribution, the fifth by the Ministry of Health so far, with 786,000 doses. They will be given to priority groups and workers at industrial parks and export processing zones in the city.

Other 20,000 doses will be sent to HCM City to inoculate the local public security force.

A number of hospitals in HCM City and Hanoi will also receive thousands of doses each to provide for priority groups and high-risk people.

Viet Nam is accelerating its vaccination efforts to combat the fourth wave of coronavirus which began on April 27, causing as many as 8,780 infections so far.

HCM City has experienced a spike in cases since late May, with more than 1,000 local infections reported as of June 16 afternoon, making it the country’s third largest coronavirus hotspot.

It is estimated that more than 7.2 million people aged 18 and above live in HCM City, and of this number, 1.6 million work in industrial parks. But only 140,000 vaccine doses have been administered, primarily to medical staff and others who are considered a priority.

Source: VNA