Vietnam aims for herd immunity in late 2021, early 2022

Vietnam’s roadmap for receiving COVID-19 vaccines can be affected due to a global shortage, with the vaccines likely to come in droves in the fourth quarter this year.

A man gets his COVID-19 vaccine shot

The country is sparing no effort to complete vaccinating its citizens in late 2021 or early 2022, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said at a meeting of the national steering committee for the 2021-2022 COVID-19 vaccination drive held on July 2.

The minister said the goal is a huge requirement. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a target for herd immunity by 2023, and that of other countries is within 2022 and in early 2023.

Earlier, in the Government’s regular meeting on July 1, Long said Vietnam is scheduled to receive 30 million doses of vaccines in the third quarter of 2021.

According to the minister, Vietnam received commitments to be provided with 105 million doses and is negotiating for an additional 45 million doses this year.

As of July 1, more than 3.81 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered nationwide, including more than 2.57 million doses in June alone. As many as 204,000 people have received both shots./.

VNA