Government chief orders vaccinations for students before new school year

Upon addressing a national online conference of the education and training sector on August 28, the cabinet leader requested that the Ministry of Education and Training collaborate with the Ministry of Health to implement the COVID-19 vaccination programme for students.

Moving forward, they will have to access vaccine manufacturers, seek sources of vaccines suitable for people over 12, and devise a plan to prioritise vaccinating students according all age groups.

In line with this plan, the country should vaccinate students before they return to school like in other countries, he said.

Leaders of many localities have also suggested prioritising vaccinations for students.

According to Nguyen Thi Quyen Thanh, vice chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Vinh Long province, 91% of teachers in the province have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 44% have been fully inoculated.
However, students still haven’t been vaccinated so they have no choice but to continue studying online.

It can be considered that this form of learning is not effective, especially for over 14,000 disadvantaged students, she noted.

Thanh therefore suggested that priority should be given to students over 12 to be vaccinated in order to allow schools to reopen.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich, vice chairwoman of the People’s Committee of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, said it was tough to keep students learning amid school closures in the province, especially due to the localities socio-economic situation.

She said she expected a vaccination programme for students in order to allow them to return to school and their traditional way of learning.

Vietnam has to date received approximately 28 million doses of vaccines from various sources. The country has also administered roughly 19 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

Ho Chi Minh City, currently the hardest hit locality by COVID-19, has recently announced its plans to inoculate people aged between 12 and 18 from September if there is a suitable vaccine source available.

This comes after PM Chinh inspected COVID-19 prevention and control in Thanh Phu commune in Vinh Cuu district of the southern province of Dong Nai, along with working with provincial leaders in the fight against the pandemic.

He also requested that provincial authorities pay close attention to social welfare and ensure security, order, and safety for people in areas which are sealed off.

PM Chinh also asked the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and agencies to provide more human resources, medical equipment, and supplies to support Dong Nai province.

To date the locality has recorded nearly 21,000 COVID-19 cases. It has conducted mass testing to swiftly detect infections in the community and strive to control the pandemic by the end of this month.