HCMC homeless people get vaccinated

Nearly 100 homeless people in HCMC's District 4 have been vaccinated against Covid-19, two days after being offered shelter.

They gathered at Nguyen Hue High School in Ward 2 for their shots on Wednesday. Dozens of police officers and health workers were present at the scene.

Vo Thanh Phu, 68, initially wondered what the shots were for.

"I used to carry stuff at the market and sleep there on the spot. When the market closed down, I had to wander the streets. Only when I was sent to the shelter did I learn Covid-19 was wreaking havoc," he said.

Pham Van Minh, who works as a carpet washer for a company in District 1, said he had had to enter centralized quarantine several months prior as his firm detected coronavirus cases. The place then went under, and coupled with the fact that his apartment complex had been put under lockdown, he had nowhere left to go.

"Now that I get to be in a shelter, it would be good to have meals and be vaccinated. After the pandemic's over, I would contact my old firm for a job," he said.

Do Thi Hai, a health worker who oversees and coordinate the vaccination, said the people were vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine and so far have not displayed any side effects.

Since earlier this week, the Social Support Center of Ho Chi Minh City have offered around 300 homeless people from cross the city shelter as the coronavirus rages on.

The southern metropolis, epicenter of Vietnam's fourth coronavirus wave since April, has recorded 190,166 local cases in the new wave.

Around 80 percent of the city's 7 million adult population have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Over 187,000, or nearly 3 percent, have been fully vaccinated.