Health minister and deputies receive COVID-19 vaccine shots
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, his deputies and leaders of units at the Ministry of Health received COVID-19 vaccine shots on May 6 morning at the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long receives COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine on May 6 morning. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, his deputies and leaders ofunits at the Ministry of Health received COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine shots on May 6morning at the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital.
Long,54, along with three of his deputies – Tran Van Thuan, 51, Truong Quoc Cuong,60, and Do Xuan Tuyen, 55 – remained at the hospital after the inoculations forfollow-up health monitoring. All of them said they felt fine afterreceiving the injections.
Theminister said the global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX is expected to deliver another1.6 million doses of AstraZeneca to Vietnam on May 10, as part of thecommitment to supply some 39 million doses within 2021 and early 2022 toinoculate the prioritised groups as identified by the Government.
Whenthe supplies are more available, eligible people could include students andworkers sent overseas.
Longsaid that the 74 percent of the nearly 1 million doses of AstraZeneca – morethan 800,000 from COVAX brought to Vietnam on April 1 and more than 117,000purchased from the manufacturer that arrived late February – have beenadministered, and the doses could be finished within a few days.
Accordingto a report released on May 6 morning by the National Expanded Programme onImmunisation, more than 90,000 people were vaccinated on May 5.
Intotal, 675,956 people in 48 cities and provinces of Vietnam – primarilyfrontline workers and medical staff – have been inoculated.
Some16 percent of the 600,000 vaccinated people reported typical symptomspost-injection which usually disappear within 24 hours, Long said, adding thatthis ratio is lower than in other countries, while other more severe reactionshave been dealt with.
Hesaid: “We always stressed the need to ensure safe vaccination. Therefore, theMinistry of Health has established a Steering Committee for safe immunisation,which brings together leading experts and professors in all relevant fields tobe ready to assist localities in handling any situation arising during thevaccination drive.”
Thefourth deputy health minister, Nguyen Truong Son, who just returned from thetrip bringing Vietnamese medical supplies aid and experts to help Laos battletheir wave of infections, is currently under quarantine after coming intocontacts with a doctor at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases foundpositive to the virus. His latest COVID-19 test on May 5 was negative./.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has recently issued guidelines on protocols for diagnosis and treatment of rare brain/abdomen blood clots in the setting of low levels of blood platelets occurring after COVID-19 vaccinations.
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Vietnam reported eight new cases of COVID-19 over the past 12 hours to 6am on May 6, all being patients of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s outskirts district of Dong Anh.
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.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long receives COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine on May 6 morning. (Photo: VNA)
