Hanoi (VNA) – The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the largest-ever immunisationdrive in Vietnam, kicked off with a ceremony held on July 10.

Ministerof Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the campaign, to be conducted from July 2021 to April 2022,targeting people aged 18 and above, is the largest of its kind in the country,with the ultimate goal of protecting people’s health and lives and bring lifeback to normal early.

Underthe Government and the Prime Minister’s directions, the Ministry of Health andrelevant ministries and sectors have exerted every effort to acquire COVID-19 vaccinesamid a global vaccine shortage.

Sofar, Vietnam has secured 105 million vaccine doses for this year and is workingto get 150 million doses so as to achieve herd immunity in late 2021 or early2022.

ThisJuly, more than 8 million doses are set to be delivered to Vietnam, which is on time for the pandemic’s complex developments in Ho Chi Minh City and someother southern localities, Long added.

Addressingthe launch, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said to help the country eliminatethe pandemic, the Party and State are determined to carry out the vaccinestrategy.

Particularly,the COVID-19 vaccine fund has attracted great support from people both at homeand abroad and enterprises. It has so far received donations worth more than 8trillion VND (348 million USD), which is being spent on purchasing vaccines forpeople, he noted.

Thefirst vaccine doses arriving in Vietnam have been prioritised for frontlineforces, and they have been distributed in a fair, equal, open, transparent,flexible, and effective manner, he remarked, elaborating that the previous vaccinebatches were provided for workers and residents in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang,which were being hit hard by COVID-19 in the past few months, but vaccines arenow prioritised for HCM City and nearby provinces where the pandemic situationis developing complicatedly.

Stressingthe need for good coordination in vaccine distribution, PM Chinh said toimplement the vaccine strategy, the Party and State will also step up domesticproduction and import of vaccines so as to secure vaccine supply for every year.

Hetook this occasion to call for the entire people’s unanimity, solidarity,support, and sense of community responsibility to defeat the pandemic whilealso asking people to stay vigilant, even after getting inoculated, andseriously comply with the Health Ministry’s guidelines.

Inhis speech, the Government leader lauded efforts by frontline forces such ashealthcare, military, and public security personnel, along with people’ssupport for the COVID-19 combat and the vaccination campaign.

Priorto the launch, PM Chinh visited the operation centre of the national COVID-19vaccination campaign, based at the headquarters of the Ministry of NationalDefence.

Thiscentre works around the clock and is connected with the National SteeringCommittee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the 63 provinces and cities,along with military regions across Vietnam./.