Hanoi aims to gain two-thirds of its residents vaccinated by the end of this year, said Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung.

In a message sent to the public on July 18, the Hanoi Party leader required the health sector to get ready to vaccinate people in a timely and the most effective manner right after receiving vaccines from the Government.

“The city will set up 1,200 vaccination centers and 100 mobile emergency aid groups to support this mass immunization program,” Dung said.

Hanoians are injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at E Hospital. Photo: Pham Hung

In another move, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Chu Ngoc Anh said that Hanoi has well prepared to be ready for its largest-ever Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

If the supply is ensured, Hanoi will deliver a maximum of 200,000 injections a day, Anh said, adding that the city is establishing 824 vaccination stations and deploying 100 mobile emergency teams to respond in case someone suffers from side effects.

“The campaign targets all people aged between 18-65, with more than 5.1 million doses to be used. During the campaign, all vaccination stations will be strictly supervised by an online control system, with information on the numbers of immunized people as well as vaccine doses administered made public,” said the Hanoi mayor.

He emphasized the need to ensure absolute safety from vaccine transportation and preservation to inoculation organization.

All wards and communes have asked residents to register for inoculations. People can register for getting vaccine injection right at wards or communes where they live, or online via the Covid-19 vaccination portal, Anh added.

Hanoi, home to nearly ten million people including migrants, has administered some 90,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for its citizens, and about 30,000 have been fully vaccinated with two doses, mostly frontline medical staff.

Only vaccination could end the pandemic, and so it is really important to educate the public on the importance of vaccines because there is still a reticence to inoculation, the secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee said.

Hanoians are tested for screening to receive Covid-19 vaccine shots at E hospital. Photo: Pham Hung

All levels and sectors need to promote extensive propaganda so that people understand and register for vaccination through local authorities or on the application "Electronic Health Book" at https://hssk.kcb.vn/ #/sskdt, Dung stressed.

Vu Dang Toan, a resident in Nam Tu Liem District said that he has been willing to enlist himself.

"I usually have to travel for business so getting the jab will make me feel more secured. I wish that people around me will soon get access to vaccines so that we could achieve herd immunity," Toan told The Hanoi Times.

Vietnam has received almost 4.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine via the Covax mechanism, contracts, and donations. The country has vaccinated almost 3.5 million people, including more than 172,000 who have got two shots.

The Ministry of Health on July 10 launched a nine-month Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Hanoi, aiming to vaccinate 75% of its population and achieve herd immunity by early 2022.

The campaign, the largest of its kind in the country’s history, will be implemented on a national scale from July 2021 to April 2022, with the support of the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Information and Communication, along with other ministries and agencies.