Hanoi to administer 350,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021
Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 12:10 GMT+7
The Hanoi Department of Health declared an estimated volume of 350,000 vaccine doses to be rolled out in 2021 during a Monday meeting of the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
The meeting, which discussed COVID-19 safety measures and prevention against hand, foot, and mouth disease in Hanoi, was chaired by the People’s Committee vice-chairman, Chu Xuan Dung.
During the meeting, Hoang Duc Hanh, deputy director of the Department of Health, pointed out that the capital city has not recorded any COVID-19 cases in the community for two straight months.
Meanwhile, six imported cases recorded between April 5 to 12 were immediately detected and sent to quarantine upon their arrival.
According to Hanh, notwithstanding the success that Hanoi and other areas of Vietnam achieved, the risk of another outbreak remains high due to the re-emergence of the pathogen in Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam’s neighbors that have also had a good track record of epidemic containment over the past year.
“The two countries [Laos and Cambodia] share long borders with Vietnam, which leads to threats of border jumpers bringing the pathogen into our country,” Hanh stated.
Tran Thi Nhi Ha, director of the Hanoi Department of Health, announced that the city has inoculated 8,047 people against COVID-19, a result that surpassed the initial aim.
All of these cases are in good health status after the jabs, Ha reported.
During the second phase of vaccination with 53,000 doses allotted, Hanoi will prioritize the medical officers and members of the local COVID-19 monitoring groups.
The city anticipates 350,000 vaccines will be available to the public in 2021 and even more in 2022, when more vaccine supplies become ready for use and the homegrown jabs may get the green light for large-scale launch.
Addressing the reports, Hanoi deputy chairman Dung required city authories to maintain vigilance the coronavirus.
Dung also emphasized the importance of public communication, capacity training, as well as strict adherence to immunization protocols to minimize the risk during the second vaccine roll-out.
Vietnam has recorded 2,707 cases of COVID-19, with 2,445 recoveries and 35 virus-related deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.
The Southeast Asian country aims to immunize 70 percent of its population and has so far inoculated almost 60,000 people during the first free vaccine roll-out that started in early March.
Beware of hand, foot, and mouth disease
According to Hoang Duc Hanh, Hanoi has recorded 82 cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease in the year to date, the majority of whom are children under five years of age.
The number of cases is rising in recent months and is expected to continue spiking in the coming summer.
To curb the spread of the disease, Hanh suggested that lower-level authorities implement thorough prevention measures, while parents should report to local health facilities immediately when they suspect hand-foot-mouth symptoms on their children in order to receive support and treatment.
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