Medical staff administering a COVID vaccine to a 11-year-old student in the northern province of Hưng Yên in April. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI -  The Ministry of Health on Tuesday ordered localities across the country to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 years old and accelerate the booster dose for people above 18 years old.

The move came after the ministry reported that the vaccination for children aged from five to 11 years old has been slower than scheduled, and the deployment of the booster dose for those above 18 years old has failed to reach the targeted goal.

Data from the ministry showed that as of May 16, the country has administered more than 217 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including over 55.4 million booster doses for people above 18 years old and more than 2.5 million doses for children aged from five to under 12 years old.

Việt Nam has about 70 million people aged above 18 years old and 11.8 million children aged from five to under 12 years old.

The booster dose vaccination for people above 18 years old is planned to be completed in the second quarter of this year under the direction of Government Notice No 114/TB-VPCP, dated April 15 2022, as well as complete the vaccination against COVID-19 for children from five to 11 years old, who are eligible for vaccination, at the same time.

The ministry also told the localities to strengthen the dissemination of information on the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 to encourage people to participate in the vaccination.

Việt Nam confirmed a total of 1,550 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total national caseload to 10,698,180 so far. The two deaths on Monday brought the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 43,067, accounting for 0.4 per cent of total cases.

There were 4,723 patients being given the all-clear on Monday, taking the total number of recoveries to 9,359,763. — VNS