(VOVWORLD) - The first batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old will arrive in Vietnam on Saturday, said Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen at a government press conference in Hanoi.
Associate Professor Doctor Nguyen Thanh Hung, Director of Pediatrics Hospital 1 in HCM City, said it’s necessary to vaccinate children 5 to 11 against the coronavirus. Lessons learned from the past outbreaks show that the vaccine cannot prevent all infection but can reduce severity of infections.
Pediatrics Doctor Le Quang My, who has treated COVID-19 child patients stressed the need to vaccinate children 5 to 11, as the number of child infections is growing.
Deputy Minister Tuyen said that the Ministry of Health has proposed buying 21.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Some organizations and countries, including the embassies of Australia and the Netherlands have pledged to provide vaccines to Vietnam.
Mr. Tuyen said the Ministry of Health is asking the government and the Prime Minister to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for children and accept donations to ensure vaccination coverage.
Mr. Tuyen said: "The Ministry of Health has worked with the Australian Embassy and the Director of Pfizer in Vietnam who have agreed to deliver child vaccines to Vietnam as soon as possible. Both Pfizer and Moderna produce vaccines that have been authorized for children."
Mr. Tuyen said there are 3 vaccine candidates - Nano Covax, Covivac, and ARCT-154 - being developed in Vietnam.
“All three candidates are in the clinical trial stage. The vaccine research units need to submit dossiers for licensing at the request of the National Ethic Council and License Advisory Council. If eligible, the vaccines will be licensed by the Ministry of Health,' said Tuyen.
The Deputy Minister of Health said the support rate for COVID-19 vaccination of or children aged 5 to 11 is 60 to 80%. The Ministry is developing communications and training programs on child COVID-19 vaccination.