HANOI — Vietnam's coronavirus epicenter, Ho Chi
Minh City, and capital Hanoi must vaccinate all of their adult residents with
at least one shot by September 15, the ministry of health said on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
Vietnam has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates
in the region, with only 3.3 percent of the country's 98 million people fully
vaccinated with two shots, and 15.4 percent with one shot.
The country is battling a worsening
COVID-19 outbreak that
has infected more than 520,000 people and killed 13,000, the vast majority in
the past few months.
Ho Chi Minh City, the country's business hub, accounts for
half of the infections and 80 percent of the fatalities.
The cities must "mobilize all capable forces including
private medical facilities, to vaccinate people at full capacity," the
ministry said in an emergency dispatch.
Government data showed 88 percent of Ho Chi Minh City's
adult population of 6.97 million have been inoculated with at least one shot.
The rate is 53 percent for Hanoi's adult population of 5.75 million.
The ministry also set the September 15 deadline for the
southern industrial provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An to
vaccinate all of their adult populations.
It said Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Long An have been
allocated enough vaccine doses for the vaccination drive.
Vietnam could be facing a lengthy battle against the
coronavirus and cannot rely on lockdown and quarantine measures indefinitely,
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said last week.
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