Authorities should inform people about the type of vaccine they will get before their travel to the inoculation sites, Nguyen Van Nen, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, said after an inspection at a COVID-19 vaccination venue in Hoc Mon District on Friday afternoon.

Friday was the last vaccination day in the district’s Hoc Mon Town, according to Nguyen Le Trong Tam, the town’s chairman.

“Today’s vaccine is Vero Cell, which is warmly received by many people,” Tam reported to the Party chief at a vaccination site set up at Nguyen An Khuong Middle School.

Only 300 cases under medical isolation are expected to be inoculated later at their homes.

Nen talked with some vaccine recipients being monitored post vaccination at the venue.

He asked the people whether they knew the brand of the vaccine doses they received and if doctors had given them clear consultancy before administering shots, to which many replied with an affirmative answer.

“I have researched a lot of information and waited until today to get vaccinated,” said Huynh Phu Noa, a 54-year-old local man, claiming that authorities had informed him that the designated vaccine is Vero Cell in advance.

“It’s good to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot, regardless of brands,” Noa added.

After the inspection, Nen mentioned the incident occurring at an immunization venue in District 1 on Friday morning, when some people expressed their disappointment to receive Vero Cell vaccine jabs.

Functional forces at the aforementioned venue followed the existing vaccination procedure, in which people only know the type of vaccine they will be injected with after undergoing all screening steps at the inoculation facilities.

“We should draw experience [from the case in District 1] and inform people about the type of vaccine in advance, so only those who accept the vaccine will travel to get the shots,” Nen advised.

“We don’t have choices at the moment,” the Ho Chi Minh Party chief added as he said about Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine sourcing. 

“We have tried to access a lot of sources, but the supply is extremely limited. 

“I assert that it’s not the case that we have options to choose and buy preferred vaccines but we don’t buy them. 

“According to WHO, the best vaccine is the one that comes first.”

Nguyen Van Nen (left), secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, talks with a medical worker at a COVID-19 vaccination venue in Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City, August 13, 2021. Photo: Dan Thuan / Tuoi Tre

The batch of Vero Cell vaccine that Ho Chi Minh City is possessing is sponsored by Saigon Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. and has been carefully inspected by the Ministry of Health, according to Nen.

The municipal authorities rejected the borrowing proposals of many localities to prioritize the use of this vaccine for people in the city, he explained.

“Our goal is to get through this difficult time in a month, and our key to success is vaccination,” the leader said. 

“In the current vaccine scarcity, the support and cooperation from the people plays a decisive role,” he affirmed.

Currently, about 4.3 million people in Ho Chi Minh City have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee.

“The city sets a target of at least seven million people getting vaccinated, and many more later,” Duc said. 

“When we reach that coverage, we will achieve herd immunity. 

“And once herd immunity is achieved, many activities can return to normal like before.” 

Nationwide, over 14 million vaccine shots have been administered in Vietnam since the country rolled out vaccination on March 8, with some 1.2 million people having been fully vaccinated.

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