Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed 12 COVID-19 cases on Monday, when the nation started mass inoculation with AstraZeneca shots.

One local infection was logged in Hai Duong Province, which is the country’s current coronavirus hotbed.

The patient had been exposed to an infection and been quarantined since February 14.

The health ministry also registered 11 imported cases the same day, including one in Binh Duong Province, three in Ho Chi Minh City, and seven in Ninh Thuan Province.

The 11 patients had been sent to centralized quarantine upon arrival in Vietnam by plane, the ministry noted.

Vietnam had spent almost two months detecting zero domestic COVID-19 cases before it found the first one on January 27 and confirmed it one day later, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 893 local cases have been recorded in 13 provinces and cities since then, making it the most serious wave to have struck Vietnam after the first-ever COVID-19 patient was announced in the country on January 23, 2020.

Hai Duong alone accounts for 709 cases, while Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have registered 35 and 36 patients, respectively.

Vietnam has recorded 2,524 coronavirus cases as of Monday night, including 1,586 local infections and 35 virus-related deaths, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

A total of 1,920 patients have recovered from the respiratory disease.

The dead had suffered from comorbid medical problems, including 31 in Da Nang, three in Quang Nam Province, and one in Quang Tri Province.

Vietnam started mass immunization on Monday, with 377 medical workers and contact tracing staff in Hanoi, Hai Duong Province, and Ho Chi Minh City already vaccinated with AstraZeneca shots, according to the health ministry.

The government has said it will inoculate people in the said 13 provinces and cities as well as other priority groups, including frontline workers, diplomats, military and police officers, and teachers.

The country received its first-ever shipment of 117,600 AstraZeneca shots on February 24.

Vietnam says it will obtain 150 million vaccine doses for the whole population this year, including 30 million through the COVAX scheme co-led by WHO, 30 million through AstraZeneca, and the rest through negotiations with U.S. and other producers.

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