A border guard soldier gets the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Tây Ninh Province on Thursday morning. —VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tân

TÂY NINH — As many as 894 soldiers who work at the border gate in Tây Ninh Province received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.

The vaccination drive was organised by the Border Guard Command of Tây Ninh Province and the 175 Military Hospital.

The hospital has arranged staff and facilities at vaccination sites to offer medical assistance to anyone reporting side effects from the vaccine.

Frontline workers in six provinces on the southwest border are also expected to be inoculated during the vaccination drive, which will last until the end of April.

The vaccinations will be carried out at hospitals, clinics and mobile sites that are suitable to the border guard force’s conditions as well as ensuring that they are fully vaccinated.

Colonel Nguyễn Tài Sơn, political official of the Border Guard Command of Tây Ninh Province, said the COVID-19 vaccination for border guard forces was important because there were already community outbreaks in Cambodia, near the border with Việt Nam.

Tây Ninh Province has a 240km border with Cambodia. There are 129 checkpoints with more than 800 soldiers on duty along the border. — VNS