At the exceptional age of 102, Ho Chi Minh City resident Nguyen Thi Ton has received her first COVID-19 jab to protect herself amid the ongoing outbreak in the city.

After arriving at the Traditional Medicine Institute on Wednesday morning, Ton successfully took her inoculation. 

She did not exhibit any major adverse reaction in the first hours after the jab, practitioners at the institute revealed.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Ton said she was a bit anxious after the neighborhood leaders invited her to get the COVID-19 jab.

“I don’t know if I can take the COVID-19 vaccine at this age," she said.

“However, that concern is not bigger than the fear of getting infected, then spreading it to my family and the community.”

Ton said she was moved to see the people in this country once again uniting in fighting against the epidemic.

She extended her thanks to local authorities, as well as the medical practitioners who took care of senior citizens like her. 

Seeing his mother getting her jab, Ton’s son Nguyen Dinh Nghiem said he was convinced enough to sign his whole family up for the next vaccination campaigns.

“Our family was worried about post-vaccination reactions, but seeing my mother staying safe and healthy after taking the jab, the younger generations and I feel that we have nothing to be afraid of,” he confessed.

“The vaccination site did a great job as well as greeting senior citizens with a warm welcome,” Nghiem said about the vaccination event at the Traditional Medicine Institute. 

“As my mom has pre-existing conditions of high blood pressure and ischemic heart disease, the doctors were very diligent in screening her health.”

Ho Chi Minh City has administered over 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccine shots since the first nationwide vaccination campaign started in March, according to the local Department of Health.

The campaign targets all residents from 18 years old, with priorities given to people over 65 years old, those with underlying health conditions, and frontline workers.

As of Wednesday, over 150,000 senior citizens and vulnerable individuals in the city’s priority list had received at least one dose, the municipal health authority reported.

The city has emerged as Vietnam’s gravest outbreak site, recording 108,379 cases out of the country’s total of 177,855 domestic infections since the fourth wave began on April 27.

The situation prompted authorities to put the city under a tightened social distancing mandate that forbids public gatherings of over two, bans non-essential businesses and services, and requires people to stay home.

Vietnam reported on Thursday morning 3,943 new cases of COVID-19, including two imported and 3,941 local transmissions, bringing the nationwide tally to 181,756, according to the Ministry of Health.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!