People in HCM City get COVID-19 vaccinations in June. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vũ

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Industry and Trade has called on cities and provinces to include employers in the transportation and logistics industries in the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination.

In a document sent on Friday to city and provincial governments, it said inter-provincial truck drivers and helpers and those working in ports and at border gates should be prioritised for vaccination. 

This would help ensure smooth transport of goods and avoid disruption of supply chains, it said.

The complicated requirements as part of COVID prevention measures for truck drivers and helpers and those in logistics services have increased the costs and time required for goods transport, it said.

Many associations and businesses have voiced concern about these difficulties, it said.

Any disruption of supply chains would severely hit businesses and affect millions of workers, it warned.

Vaccines for businesses

The Việt Nam Young Entrepreneurs Association has also called on the secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, Nguyễn Văn Nên, and chairman of the People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, to allocate vaccines for its members in HCM City.

It said it would co-ordinate with the Việt Nam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) and some private health facilities to vaccinate its members' employees.

This would help speed up vaccination in the city and relieve the burden on the public health system.

It said VNVC could vaccinate 80,000 people a day.

The Party Committee targets immunising two-thirds of the city’s people aged 18 and above by August. —VNS