HCM City accelerates COVID-19 vaccination for children
The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City have requested authorities of districts and Thu Duc city to speed up COVID-19 vaccination for children aged five to under 18, in preparation for the new academic year 2023.
HCM City accelerates COVID-19 vaccination for children. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – The People’s Committee of Ho Chi MinhCity have requested authorities of districts and Thu Duc city to speed up COVID-19vaccination for children aged five to under 18, in preparationfor the new academic year 2023.
Children can get their jabs at schools andother community vaccination sites.
The municipal People's Committee asked the Steering Committeesfor COVID-19 Prevention and Control of districts and Thu Duc city to beresponsible for deploying and informing parents of vaccination sites.
The Health Department requested the Department ofEducation and Training to strengthen information updating, and ordered three pediatric hospitals toalways have injection teams ready in order to serve inoculationsites in alldistricts, and Thu Duc city.
HCM City is seeing a slightly rising caseload due to the newcontagious sub-variants Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, although the number of serious cases remains stable.
On July 29, the city recorded 141 new cases, whilea few weeks ago it was only less than 50 each day.
Statistics from the municipal Department of Health show that therate of booster vaccine shots against COVID-19 for childrenfrom 12 to under 18 in the city has reached only 19.86%. Meanwhile, the rate of1st and 2nd shot for children from 5 to under 12 has stood at only 46.9% and24.3% respectively./.
Vietnam is at risk of COVID-19 resurgence if people don’t get booster shots and local authorities stay negligent and fail to accelerate vaccine advocacy, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong told a Hanoi ceremony on July 5.
The national caseload of COVID-19 reached 10,767,200 on July 23 with 1,071 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged the Ministry of Health and relevant ministries and agencies as well as the People’s Committees of cities and provinces nationwide to strictly implement his dispatch issued on July 25 regarding the speeding up of COVID-19 vaccination, the Government Office said in a statement.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
HCM City accelerates COVID-19 vaccination for children. (Photo: VNA) 
