A man is vaccinated against Covid-19. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered an investigation into the alleged Covid-19 vaccination without registration - PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – Amid the spread of information that a woman from Hanoi and her husband were injected with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine without registering, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Health and other competent agencies to launch an investigation into the case.

If the information is accurate, the individuals and organizations involved must be punished in line with the law and similar cases must not be repeated, the local media reported.

The prime minister also asked the Ministry of Health and localities to distribute Covid-19 vaccines in a fair, transparent, flexible and effective manner, give the vaccines to the priority groups concerned and ensure fair access to the Covid-19 vaccines.

The Ministry of Health on July 20 also directed its inspectors to ask the director of the Viet Xo Friendship Hospital to explain the case and report the results to the ministry.

The woman had earlier posted on her Facebook page that she and her husband had received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses thanks to her father’s connections. The information has sparked public concern as Vietnam has reserved the vaccines for priority groups and registration is mandatory before receiving the vaccines.

On July 20, Hanoi Vice Chairman Chu Xuan Dung asked the director of the municipal Department of Health to clarify another case in which another woman was injected with the Covid-19 vaccine at the Xanh Pon Hospital due to her connection with a leader of the hospital.