Vietnam HCMC to Vaccinate Children from 3 against COVID This Year: Official

Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City will provide two COVID-19 vaccine doses for children aged from three this year, Director Tang Chi Thuong of the municipal Department of Health has said. Director Thuong made the statement at a meeting to set out new tasks for this year on January 12. An official from the Ministry of Health has told the local VnExpress newspaper that the health ministry has already built a plan for vaccinating children aged five-eleven against COVID-19 and submitted it to the government for approval. However, it is not unclear about some details in this plan, such as timeline, the number of children in this age group, and the required vaccine doses. As of January 12, HCMC administered 18.6 million coronavirus vaccine doses for people, of which 1.38 million were for children aged 12-17. The number of serious coronavirus with respiratory support has reached 1,357 cases in HCMC, making up 32% of the city’s hospitalizations and 5.2% of its coronavirus infections. Local health authorities are providing medical treatment for 77 children aged under 16 and 29 pregnant women.  (PLO, Thanh Nien, VnExpress)