Workers at Trà Nóc 1 Industrial Zone, the southern city of Cần Thơ, receive COVID-19 shots on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Hiền

HÀ NỘI — Eight million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be delivered to Việt Nam in July, according to Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long.

The country's top health official made the statement at a meeting on Friday, amid the severe fourth wave of infections.

Long, the chair of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign committee, said deliveries to the country right now remain limited due to the global shortage, and the peak of shipments would fall into the fourth quarter of the year.

Việt Nam is scheduled to receive 30 million doses of vaccines in the third quarter of 2021.

According to the minister, Việt Nam has received commitments for the supply of 105 million doses and is negotiating for an additional 45 million doses this year.

The Ministry of Health is stepping up research and transfer of technology to produce vaccines at home and promoting negotiations with the US, Japan, Germany, Russia and Cuba on the transfer of vaccine production technology. It has also asked domestic producers to accelerate clinical tests while ensuring compliance with regulations.

To carry out the vaccination campaign in a safe and effective manner, every step from storage, distribution, to the organisation of injections, IT application and media communications must be well-coordinated, Long said.

“We can streamline administrative procedures, but not medical procedures. Everyone must undergo screening before receiving the vaccines. Right now a list of people to be vaccinated must be created to see who would need to receive their jab at the hospitals and who could get the jab at a medical centre or mobile vaccination site,” he said.

The management of vaccination registration will be done online to help ensure transparency and effectiveness.

“How many doses are allocated to this vaccination site, how many have been vaccinated, how many are remaining, all figures would be closely monitored. The temperature of the storages of the vaccines would also be tightly watched, hence the creation of the vaccine quality management sub-committee.”

Some 19,000 vaccination sites would be set up across the country, and the number could be adjusted to suit the situation on the ground, he said, adding that the private healthcare sector would also be enlisted to help with the campaign.

Attendees of the meeting stressed the need for social distancing measures to be enforced at vaccination sites to avoid overcrowding.

As of July 1, more than 3.81 million COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered nationwide, including more than 2.57 million doses in June alone. As many as 204,000 people have received both shots. — VNS