A student in Hà Nội receiving COVID-19 vaccine. VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health has sent an official request to a number of health departments nationwide calling on them to speed up the vaccination drive for children aged 12 to 17.

The request has been made to authorities in Bắc Kạn, Sơn La, Điện Biên, Quảng Trị, Bình Thuận, Đắk Lắk, Đồng Nai, Đồng Tháp  and Bình Dương provinces.

As of February 13, more than 16.4 million vaccine doses were injected to children over 12, of which the vaccination rate of the first dose was 94.5 per cent and the second dose was 89.7 per cent.

A total of 42 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide completing more than 90 per cent of full vaccinations for children in that age range.

The localities reaching up to 90 per cent of injecting two doses include Hải Phòng, Bắc Giang, Phú Thọ, Bắc Kạn, Lai Châu, Hà Giang, Lào Cai, Quảng Bình, Ninh Thuận, Gia Lai, HCM City, Tây Ninh and Cần Thơ.

Many provinces and cities have completed vaccination of two doses however, there were still some localities with a low rate of under 80 per cent.

In order to quickly complete the Prime Minister's direction, the ministry requested health departments of provinces and cities to accelerate the vaccination drive to ensure safety and report on results, post-vaccination reactions as regulations quickly and accurately.

Previously, the ministry issued several documents on pushing up vaccination for children. VNS