Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen on Thursday afternoon urged the health agency to work with authorities at local level and the education sector to take proactive steps to create a detailed plan for the effective implementation of the vaccination drive for children in the age group of 5 to 11 during her meeting with members of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vice Chairwoman Ngo Thi Kim Yen chaired Thursday’s meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Photo: PHAN CHUNG

Mrs Yen said that a total of around 70,000 eligible children across the city will be covered under the vaccination drive.

She highlighted the need for the health agency to conduct a thorough training for its staff in order to administer COVID-19 vaccine to children in safe effective practice.

Vice Chairwoman Yen stated that COVID-19 is less complicated and dangerous than it was before but daily case counts remain in triple digits, therefore urging local residents and tourists to stay vigilant against the spread of the virus by sticking to COVID-19 safety protocols in a bid to protect themselves and others.

Da Nang’s daily new COVID-19 case counts continue in the triple digits, with 472 new cases on Thursday. However, the city’s daily COVID-19 case count has dipped below the 500 mark in recent days, showing a good sign that the city has passed the peak of the latest wave of COVID-19 caused by Omicron.

Mrs Yen highlighted huge efforts the health agency and relevant units have made to effectively manage COVID-19 patients under home-based treatment. She also praised authorities at local level and relevant agencies for their efforts in promoting the use of mobile app among local residents and tourists contracting COVID-19 in an attempt to help them declare their infection status and receive online certifications while they are undergoing isolation and treatment at their own homes or tourist accommodation establishments.

Mrs Yen said that field hospitals for COVID-19 in Da Nang have temporarily closed their doors, contributing to partly reducing the burden on local healthcare workers.

Vice Chairwoman urged authorities at local level and relevant agencies not to relax on observing the city’s pandemic safety guidelines while regularly creating accurate risk assessments in a bid to enable effective and appropriate measures to be taken to control the spread of the virus.

Currently, there are just 335 active COVID-19 cases, including 27 severe cases, under treatment at 21 healthcare facilities across Da Nang. The city’s third-dose vaccination rate is among the highest in Viet Nam, with over 76 per cent of residents having received their booster or third shot.

Reporting by PHAN CHUNG – Translating by H.L