The first Moderna COVID-19 vaccine lot for children from 5 to under 12 years old, which arrived in Vietnam on April 8, will be administered to sixth-grade students in the northern province of Quang Ninh on April 14, according to Assoc Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Vice Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.
The vaccines to be used are donated by the Australian government, with one million doses having arrived on April 8 and another two million arrived on April 13, Vice Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said.
Assoc Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong revealed that the vaccines, donated by the Australian Government, will be transported to other localities for the vaccination of children next week.
She advised parents to fully inform medical staff on the health conditions of their children to ensure safety, while closely monitoring the children’s health after vaccination.
The Ministry of Health has approved Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children from 5 to under 12, who will receive two shots of the same kind, with the second shot injected four weeks after the first one. The dosage will be 2ml for Pfizer and 0.25ml for Moderna.
Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine said that Vietnam has 11.8 million children aging from 5 to under 12, of whom about 8.2 million have yet to be infected with COVID-19.
He said the children are expected to receive full two shots by the end of the second quarter of this year. About 3.6 million children who recovered from COVID-19 will receive COVID-19 vaccine shots three months after their recovery, said Lan.
According to Lan, if vaccinated children aged five to 11 years old show fewer symptoms and milder symptoms than adults in the event that they are infected.
The Ministry’s Health Strategy and Policy Institute has recently conducted an online poll that indicates 60.6% of parents with children under 12 agreed with the need to inoculate their children against COVID-19. Roughly 29.1% of the respondents said they were considering the plan, whilst just 1.9% of polled parents said they did not agree.
“Vaccination for children is of great significance as it helps limit infection and reduce transmission of the virus to family members, especially those at high risk,” said Lan, pointing out that infection is more common among unvaccinated children.
Earlier on March 31, the Ministry of Health approved the injection of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children from 5 to under 12 years old.
