Like its counterparts nationwide, the Da Nang People's Committee has just issued a plan to vaccinate against COVID-19 for children aged 5 to below 12. The move aims to head towards the common goal of proactive COVID-19 prevention and control by using COVID-19 vaccines for the whole community, including children.

Accordingly, the plan will be implemented in all communes and wards across the city, ensuring a high rate of vaccine coverage for children of eligible ages and ultimate safety during inoculation.

Vaccination deployment time is based on vaccine supply capacity under the guidance of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and pandemic developments in the city.

Vaccination rollout will take place in 2 phases, in which Phase 1 is expected to kick off within April to immunize children aged 5 to below 12, excluding those who have contracted COVID-19 over the past 3 months.

Phase 2, expected to be implemented, following the Ministry of Health's guidance and direction on when to vaccinate children with COVID-19, will administer vaccines to those have been infected with COVID-19 with indications to delay vaccination.

The Da Nang government has assigned relevant local agencies to jointly establish vaccination/mobile vaccination points. Immunization shall be carried out from large to small ages, classified by school and by district and ward/commune.

The dose and interval between injections for children from 5 to under 12 years old must be approved by the Ministry of Health.

The two vaccines approved for use on children aged 5-11 are Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

The recommended interval between the two doses is four weeks. For children, both doses must be of the same vaccine.

Functional bodies must review and verify the vaccination registration data to avoid omission of objects, provide complete and accurate information according to prescribed registration forms for children at the national COVID-19 vaccination system.

According to the  General Department of Preventive Medicine, there are 11.8 million children of 5-12 years old across Viet Nam eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. In particular, 3.6 million of these children have recovered from COVID-19 and will be vaccinated three months later."

The common side effects of the Moderna vaccine include lymph node swelling, headaches, nausea, muscle and joint pains, injection site pain, chills, fevers, swelling and/or rashes at the injection site, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, diarrhoea, rashes, and dermographic urticaria are common side effects at injection sites.

The vaccination has significant meaning in protecting children's health in the context of the pandemic, as well as reducing the transmission risk between people in one family or between students and teachers at schools, recently said Deputy Minister for Health Nguyen Truong Son

It is also aimed at promoting the fulfilment of other social goals, gradually resuming the normal life.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by A.THU