Authorities in the southern Vietnamese province of Binh Duong began providing COVID-19 vaccine to approximately 180,000 residents under 18 years old on Sunday.

During the vaccination drive, about 180,000 children aged 12 to 17 in the province are expected to be inoculated against COVID-19.

Health authorities will first administer around 58,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to local high school students.

The Binh Duong Department of Health previously planned on vaccinating children against the disease in August.

A number of children did receive their first dose as part of this plan before it was suspended following a decision by the Ministry of Health.

Only high school students in the districts of northern Binh Duong are allowed to go back to school from November 1, according to the provincial Department of Education and Training.

Others are expected to continue remote learning until late November or early December, depending on the vaccination progress.

With more than 233,000 local infections, Binh Duong has been the second-largest epicenter in Vietnam since the fourth wave started on April 27.

As of Sunday, the southern province had administered more than 3.9 million vaccine doses, the provincial health department reported.

Nearly 1.6 million out of over 2.4 million people in the locality have been fully vaccinated.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health issued a guideline on COVID-19 vaccination for children on October 14.

Ho Chi Minh City was the first locality in the country to initiate such a vaccination campaign on October 27.

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