About 963,000 children aged 5 - 11 in Ho Chi Minh City need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, statistics show. (Photo: VNA)   

NDO/VNA – The Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) on March 1 opened a training course on safe COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 - 11.

The course, which will last until March 11, will provide training for about 1,350 members of local vaccination teams, with guidance given by experts from three children’s hospitals in the city.

About 963,000 children aged 5 - 11 in Ho Chi Minh City need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

To gear up for this vaccination campaign, the municipal Department of Health said it has made all-round preparations such as training, personnel, and emergency aid, and is only waiting for the Ministry of Health’s decision to start.

Earlier, the Department of Education and Training ordered local schools to collect opinions from students’ parents, most of whom voiced support for inoculating their children against the disease.

On February 5, the Government issued a resolution on purchasing COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer for children aged between 5 and under 12.

Assoc. Prof. and Dr. Do Van Dung, head of the public health faculty at the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said the vaccination of children aged between 5 - 11 at this point of time suits the domestic and international situation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended vaccination for small children, and the practice in some countries, including the US, has shown that the inoculation is useful and safe.

The number of COVID-19 cases among local children has been on the rise, especially when schools have reopened. From February 13 to 26, there were 2,659 confirmed cases who are children under 18, according to the Department of Education and Training.