Da Nang’s third-dose vaccination rate is among the highest in Viet Nam, with over 75 per cent of residents having received their booster or third shot. Da Nang government is encouraging local residents to come forward for their third jabs as soon as they are eligible to get the best possible protection against coronavirus as the city has fully opened to domestic and international tourism, and its economic and social activities have returned to normalcy.

Da Nang is among top six Vietnamese localities with the highest rate of fully vaccinated people who have received boosters or third shots. Photo: Xuan Dung

As of March 21, more than 213,000 people across Da Nang who are fully vaccinated has received their third dose during the Health Ministry-launched COVID-19 booster campaign, according to data published by the municipal Department of Health.

In the last days of March and early April, the health agency has been administering third shots to the remaining 128,000 eligible people in Da Nang. A total of 8 vaccination sites are opening across the city in final push for booster shots.

A health care worker administered a booster shot in early 2022 in Ngu Hanh Son District. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Da Nang is among the six localities leading the nation with the highest rate of fully vaccinated people who have received boosters.

However, Doctor Ton That Thanh, the Director of Da Nang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that booster vaccination rates in Da Nang are lower than first- and second-dose levels.

Doctor Truong Van Trinh, the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health, is urging local residents who haven't yet received their COVID-19 booster vaccine to roll up their sleeves.

He highlighted the need for authorities at local level and relevant agencies to increase public awareness about the importance of getting third COVID-19 shots as new variants will continue to emerge.  

Doctor Truong Van Trinh pointed out the fact that people infected with the virus and those who have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses might have delayed or skipped their booster shot, while widespread “fatigue” and complacency linked to Omicron’s milder symptoms were holding people back from getting third jab.

The purpose of the COVID-19 booster is to give people an added level of protection from COVID-19 if their existing protection has waned over time. The booster will decrease their risk of infection and severe illness with COVID-19. It would potentiate their immune system to bring them back up to a level of protection that would protect them from infection, hospitalizations, and death, which the vaccine is designed to do.

Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ngo Thi Kim Yen remarked that Da Nang’s noticeable drop in new COVID-19 cases, severe cases and COVID-19 related deaths in recent days may signal that the city’s dramatic omicron-driven surge has passed its peak.

However, Mrs Yen is urging the public and authorities at local level to stay vigilant against COVID-19 and continue to follow COVID-19 guidelines from the national and municipal government in order to keep them safe in the new normal as the Omicron-dominated resurgence remains complicated in the country and in the world. The World Health Organization has warned that the new omicron variant is spreading at an unprecedented rate across the world.

Mrs Yen is also asking the health agency and relevant units to continue pushing booster information campaigns and awareness campaigns in efforts to help build trust and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and improve public readiness for vaccination. Authorities at local level are tasked to continue to go ‘door-to-door’ in a bid to encourage eligible people to roll up their sleeves for third jabs in order to boost their protections against COVID-19 and support the city’s efforts in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by H.L