Elderly people in Tây Mỗ Ward, Nam Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội receive COVID-19 vaccines in early 2022. Seniors are set to be the first to get the fourth vaccine shots in the upcoming rollout. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese health ministry has asked provincial/municipal health departments to provide the tentative number of vaccines needed for the rollout of second COVID-19 booster shots (fourth doses) before May 25, 2022. The second boosters will for now be for adults over 50 years, or people from 18 years old with immunocompromised conditions from mild to severe level, or people from 18 years old who are at risk of exposure to the virus (frontline healthcare workers, officials, and workers at industrial parks, etc.). The latest document was sent to local health departments, health department of the public security ministry, and the military medicine department, Pasteur institutes and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). mRNA COVID-19 … [Read more...] about Việt Nam gears up for rollout of fourth COVID-19 vaccine shots
How to administer a flu shot
HCM City to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week
Ho Chi Minh City is expected to start offering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to residents next week, according to Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Municipal Department of Health. Priority will be given to more than 1.8 million people aged 50 years or older, Nam said on May 13 while meeting with voters in Districts No7 and Nha Be. The fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will mostly be administered to elderly and high-risk populations. These booster shots will also be given to people aged 18 years or older with moderate to severe immunodeficiency or belonging to a group at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 such as healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people working in industrial parks. The city will arrange mobile vaccination venues besides hospitals and injection sites. Vaccines to be used will be the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Several day ago the Ministry of Health requested localities to work out a vaccination plan for the fourth doses to be … [Read more...] about HCM City to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week
U.S. CDC backs COVID boosters for children 5 to 11
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday recommended the COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11 after an advisory panel voted to back them, at least five months after completing their primary vaccination course. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that she "endorsed" the vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices "to expand eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. Children 5 through 11 should receive a booster dose at least 5 months after their primary series." "With over 18 million doses administered in this age group, we know that these vaccines are safe, and we must continue to increase the number of children who are protected," Walensky added. The advisers considered data from the CDC that showed protection from the initial two shots starts to wane over time, and that boosters in older age groups improved efficacy against severe COVID and hospitalizations. The Food and Drug Administration … [Read more...] about U.S. CDC backs COVID boosters for children 5 to 11
Health Ministry calls for faster COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5-under 12
Health worker gives a COVID-19 vaccine jab for a child. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Health on May 17 asked localities nationwide to complete the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to under-12 and the administration of the third shot for people over 18 by the second quarter of 2022. In an official dispatch, the ministry said as of May 16, some 217 million of vaccine doses had been administered in the country, including more than 2.5 million for children of the 5 - under 12 age group . Most of the people of age 12 and above have received the basic vaccine shots. However, the rate of people of age 18 and above receiving the third jab has yet to meet the set target, it added./. VNA … [Read more...] about Health Ministry calls for faster COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5-under 12
As U.S. COVID-19 cases rise, so does demand for antivirals
Rising COVID-19 cases are driving up the use of therapeutics, with Pfizer Inc's oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid seeing a 315% jump over the past four weeks, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday. The increase in U.S. cases and hospitalizations is starting to affect recommendations on behavior, with New York City, the nation's most populous city, advising stricter mask usage but stopping short of new mandates. Apple has scrapped return to office plans. "Increasingly, we'll see this virus hit people who are substantially older, frail, have underlying illnesses, or are distinctly immunocompromised," said Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "But we now have better treatments and many of those people will leave the hospital vertically rather than horizontally." The United States is averaging nearly 97,000 new cases a day, up from about 73,000 a week ago, according to a Reuters tally. Cases have been gradually … [Read more...] about As U.S. COVID-19 cases rise, so does demand for antivirals
Measures put recovery on the front foot
Vietnam has risen in official pandemic recovery indices thanks to production continuity and vaccinations, Photo: Le Toan The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in April its World Economic Outlook report, stating that global growth is projected to slow from an estimated 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.6 per cent in 2022 and 2023. This is 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points lower for 2022 and 2023 than projected in January. “Beyond 2023, global growth is forecast to decline to about 3.3 per cent over the medium term. War-induced commodity price increases and broadening price pressures have led to 2022 inflation projections of 5.7 per cent in advanced economies and 8.7 per cent in emerging market and developing economies - 1.8 and 2.8 percentage points higher than projected last January,” the report said. “Multilateral efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis, prevent further economic fragmentation, maintain global liquidity, manage debt distress, tackle climate change, and end … [Read more...] about Measures put recovery on the front foot
1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
A child receives a COVID-19 vaccine dose in the northern province of Thái Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt HÀ NỘI — A total of 1,895 new COVID-19 infections were detected on Saturday, the first time Việt Nam has registered less than 2,000 cases in a single daily update since July 11 last year. The latest numbers bring the total national caseload to 10,695,036 so far. All the new infections were domestic. A total of 1,585 new transmissions were detected in the community. The capital city of Hà Nội continued to record the highest number of infections with 489, followed by Nghệ An with 115. The other cases were found in Quảng Ninh (95), Vĩnh Phúc (92), Phú Thọ (92), Yên Bái (86), Tuyên Quang (81), Thái Bình (66), Quảng Bình (54), Bắc Kạn (52), Lào Cai (51), Thái Nguyên (47), HCM City (45), Hà Nam (41), Lâm Đồng (38), Lai Châu (34), Nam Định (30), Đà Nẵng (27), Lạng Sơn (26), Ninh Bình (24), Hưng Yên (22), Hà Tĩnh (22), Đắk Nông (22), Hải Phòng (22), Bình Dương (22), Sơn La (21), … [Read more...] about 1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
No COVID-19 deaths, 1,594 new cases recorded on Sunday
An ethnic woman in the northern Cao Bằng Province’s Thượng Thôn Commune receives her third dose of COVID-19 vaccine. VNA/VNS Photo Chu Hiệu HÀ NỘI — A total of 1,594 new COVID-19 infections were detected with no deaths reported on Sunday. The latest number brings the total national caseload to 10,696,630 so far. All the new infections were domestic. A total of 1,029 new transmissions were detected in the community. The capital city of Hà Nội continued to record the highest number of infections with 461, followed by northern Quảng Ninh Province with 88. The other cases were found in Nghệ An (80), Yên Bái (80), Tuyên Quang (73), Phú Thọ (73), Bắc Ninh (57), Thái Bình (47), Đà Nẵng (46), Quảng Bình (46), Thái Nguyên (45), Lào Cai (44), Vĩnh Phúc (41), Ninh Bình (29), Sơn La (28), Bình Phước (26), Nam Định (26), Hồ Chí Minh City (25), Bình Dương (24), Bắc Kạn (23), Hà Nam (23), Hải Dương (22), Hà Tĩnh (21), Hòa Bình (20), Hải Phòng (19), Hưng Yên (19), Lâm Đồng (18), Lạng Sơn … [Read more...] about No COVID-19 deaths, 1,594 new cases recorded on Sunday