Students at the Hòa Bình Primary School in HCM City’s District 1 on February 14. VNA/VNS Photo by Hồng Giang

HCM CITY — HCM City plans to vaccinate 970,000 children aged 5-11 against COVID-19.

Nguyễn Hồng Tâm, deputy director of the city Centre for Disease Control (HCDC), said on Monday however it would have been approved by parents individually and is not obligatory.

HCDC has provided training to health workers at all levels in safe practices, vaccine storage, handling vaccination side effects, and others.

Tâm said when the Ministry of Health issued guidelines for the vaccination, the city Department of Health would draft plans for it.

Health agencies had worked with district authorities to persuade parents to vaccinate their children, he added.

Nguyễn Thị Huỳnh Mai, the health department’s chief of office, called on parents of children suffering from malnutrition or obesity or having underlying health issues to definitely get them vaccinated to boost their immune system.

Back to school

Three COVID cases were detected in schools on February 14, the day they resumed classes for all grades.

Trịnh Duy Trọng of the Department of Education and Training said the schools and local health agencies handled the new infections based on the protocol issued by the health ministry.

All students who had been in close contact with the patients tested negative.

Trọng warned there would be more COVID cases this week, and schools would face many obstacles in the pandemic prevention and control in the upcoming weeks.

The department has instructed schools to scrupulously comply with preventive measures, and test teachers, staff and students who left the city during the Tết holidays.

According to the department, around 66.32 per cent of pre-school, 95.99 per cent of primary school, and 94.96 per cent of sixth-grade students attended classes on February 14. — VNS