The Ministry of Health has approved the use of COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca following the primary analysis of Phase III clinical trials from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, which confirmed that it is safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations, more than 22 days after the first dose, according to a press release from AstraZeneca Vietnam issued on February 4.

With Tết (Lunar New Year) approaching together with the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, blood donations to the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) have decreased.

Trần Như Dương, Deputy Director National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, who headed up the institute’s task force sent to Hải Dương Province – the current coronavirus epicentre in Việt Nam’s recent outbreaks – told the media that the highly transmissible variant of the virus demands utmost speed from health workers.