The Ministry of Health urges Covid-19 vaccination for children from 5 to under 12 years old

According to a report by the Ministry of Health, by the end of May 16, 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam had given Covid-19 vaccines to children from 5 to under 12 years old. More than 2.54 million first injections have been given, 209 children have received 2 injections.

As for the progress of the 3rd dose injection (repeated dose) for people aged 18 years and over, the Ministry of Health assessed that the injection speed has not reached the set target. More than 40.2 million first boosters have been given so far. The number of second repetitions is more than 25,200.

In the cable just sent this morning, the Ministry of Health asked the Chairman of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities to strengthen the direction of related units to urgently deploy the 3rd dose vaccination for people aged 18 years and over.

For children from 5 to under 12 years old, the Ministry of Health suggested that provinces and cities speed up the vaccination schedule for children who are eligible for vaccination, ensuring safety and effectiveness.

Both of these groups need to be completed in the second quarter of 2022 under the direction of the Government.

In addition to strengthening communication about the vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Health also suggested that localities “go every alley, knock door-to-door, check each object” to ensure that the subjects being vaccinated are not missed; mobilize people to participate in timely and complete vaccination to easily achieve the best disease prevention effect.

According to the report of the Ministry of Health to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on May 11 on the progress of vaccination and supply of Covid-19 vaccine for children from 5 to under 12 years old, there are more than 11.8 million children in this age group.

The number of children expected to be vaccinated is nearly 9 million, corresponding to the number of vaccines that need to be used is nearly 18 million doses.

Of these, more than 3.5 million children were infected with Covid-19 in April-April 2022. The children will be vaccinated after 3 months of infection, expected from June to August 2022 (the number of children expected to be vaccinated is nearly 2.7 million). The remaining more than 8.2 million children have not yet contracted Covid-19 (it is expected that more than 6.28 children will be vaccinated).

The Ministry of Health expects that in May this year, the first dose of vaccine will be given to about 4 million children and the second dose will be given to about 2 million children.

The Ministry of Health has set a target that by the end of June, the first vaccination will be given to eligible children who agree to be vaccinated; 5.67 million (equivalent to more than 70%) children will receive 2 doses of Covid-19 vaccine. By the end of August, it is expected to complete and complete 2 vaccinations for eligible children who agree to be vaccinated.

At the beginning of May, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong – Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology – reported that the number of common reaction cases recorded in most provinces/cities was less than 5%.

According to the expert, this rate is lower than that announced by the manufacturer as well as received information from the World Health Organization and other countries that deployed before Vietnam.

In more than 2 million doses administered to children 5-11 years old in Vietnam, no serious reactions have been recorded so far.

Thanh Hien