Vietnam awaits 7 mln vaccine doses for children aged 5-11

Vietnam is set to sign a contract with Pfizer this month for 21.9 million vaccine doses for children aged 5-11, with 7 million delivered in the first quarter.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said Tuesday that the remaining 14.9 million doses are expected to be delivered in April. As soon as the vaccines arrive, the ministry would administer them to children aged 5-11, he added.

The health ministry has also updated its guidelines for using of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, saying children aged 5-11 would receive the 10 mcg (0.2 ml) dosage. Children aged 12 and above would receive a 30 mcg (0.3 ml) dosage.

Duong Thi Hong, deputy head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said health authorities are aiming for 95 percent of children to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

While Covid-19 vaccination would not be mandatory for children aged 5-11, health experts would try to persuade parents to let their children be vaccinated based on scientific evidence, she added.

An online survey by the health ministry last month on whether parents would let children under 12 be vaccinated against Covid-19 found that out of 415,000 respondents, 60.6 percent agreed, 1.9 percent refused, 29.1 percent said they would consider it, and 7.6 said they would allow the vaccination if it was mandatory.

So far, all of Vietnam’s adult population have received their first Covid-19 vaccine shot and 97.9 percent their second. Meanwhile, 98.6 percent of children aged 12-17 have received their first shot and 93 their second.