An inspector from the Ministry of Health checks COVID-19 prevention and control work at the An Phước Commune Medical Station in Mang Thít District, the southern province of Vĩnh Long. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Thúy Hằng

HÀ NỘI — More than 318,700 people across the country have received both shots of the COVID-19 vaccination by Wednesday morning, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Provinces and cities have made efforts to speed up the vaccination process but still ensure safety.

About 30 per cent of people had reactions after the vaccination, including fever, fatigue and injection site pain. The rate is lower than European reports and those of the manufacturers. These are common symptoms and also common reactions of the body to all vaccines in general, according to the MoH.

In particular, the MoH said, because Việt Nam's immunisation programme was very methodical with the goal of ensuring safety of people who get vaccinated, the procedures for vaccination against COVID-19 were different from other countries. There is screening, pre-vaccination counselling, safe vaccination sessions, and the vaccination person is monitored at the injection site for at least 30 minutes, then continues with home health monitoring for at least a day, before receiving follow up checks for up to three weeks after injection.

Hospitals are always ready to prevent severe reactions after vaccination to ensure maximum safety for people being vaccinated.

Professor Đặng Đức Anh, director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said it was expected that by May 15, Việt Nam would complete the second round of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations.

In June, the World Health Organisation would continue to provide COVID-19 vaccines to Việt Nam and would continue to distribute them nationwide, he said.

The MoH issued a request to provincial and municipal departments of health to continue to strengthen inspection and handling of violations related to COVID-19 pandemic prevention.

In Việt Nam, although no cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the community for a while, the risk of disease transmission remains very high.

The MoH’s inspector will coordinate with relevant departments to organise unscheduled inspections at a number of establishments producing, importing and trading in goods for pandemic prevention nationwide.

The MoH on Wednesday morning organised an online conference with 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

It also marked the launch of the COVID-19 Vaccination Safety Steering Committee. During the online conference, the MoH gave training on how to handle adverse incidents following COVID-19 vaccination.

The conference aimed to improve the capacity of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment for medical examination and treatment facilities across the country. — VNS