Shippers are an important link in big cities’ supply chains. Photo courtesy of baomoi.com

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has asked the city Health Department to prioritise 62,000 shippers for vaccinations.

The director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, said the department has compiled a list of shippers and sent it to the Department of Health, along with People’s Committees of districts and Thủ Đức City for vaccinations.

There are 16 units with about 62,000 drivers included on the list, including shippers from Grab, Now, Beamin and Gojek delivery applications. 

Drivers of e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada are also on the vaccination list.

Recently, a series of ride-hailing applications sought  permission for shippers from the city as they are an important link of the supply chain, especially in big cities.

On the afternoon of July 27, about 1,500 Grab drivers received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at five injection points in District 7. This was the first major vaccination series targeted at shippers from ride-hailing apps.

Dr Bùi Thị Thu Hương from Việt Nga Eye Hospital in HCM City, who was in charge of one of the five injection points in District 7, said that in addition to shippers, many store employees and pharmacy staff were vaccinated.

It is crucial that they be vaccinated as they are at high risk of COVID-19 infection, she added. VNS