Ho Chi Minh City prepares to inoculate students above 12

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has proposed a plan to the People’s Committee to vaccinate more than 642,000 students aged between 12 and 18 against COVID-19.

Vaccination against COVID in Ho Chi Minh City being done in Go Vap District on October 4. (Photo: VNA)
Vaccination against COVID in Ho Chi Minh City being done in Go Vap District on October 4. (Photo: VNA)

It wants to complete the task before the end of the first semester in order to prepare for a return to school in the second.

Remote learning has been extended indefinitely though the city has lifted most other lockdown restrictions.

Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, deputy director of the city Department of Health, said vaccinations for students would begin once the Ministry of Health puts out specific guidelines and there is enough supply of vaccines.

His department has made a list of students aged 12 and above, but the vaccination schedule has yet to be drawn up and the city is still waiting for adequate vaccine supply, he said.

As of October 4, 96,4% of the city population aged 18 and above have received as least one dose of a vaccine and 60.6 percent are fully inoculated, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.