Two people in the northern Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa died on November 24 after getting Sinopharm’s Vero Cell Covid-19 vaccine while three others are being treated at a local hospital, the provincial Department of Health confirmed.
They were inoculated on November 23. All of them are from Nong Cong district.
On November 23, the district’s health centre organised the second doses of Vero Cell vaccine for workers and employees at Kim Viet Shoe Co Ltd in Nong Cong Town Industrial Complex.
All people who registered for the vaccination underwent health screening by local medical workers and were advised about the kind of vaccine they would be vaccinated with as well as possible reactions.
During the vaccination, local medical workers found some people with reactions after injection. Five of them had serious symptoms and were diagnosed with anaphylaxis.
They were immediately given emergency treatment at the site by medical workers of the districts’ General Hospital and then transferred to the provincial General Hospital for treatment.
However, two died at 12:45am and 8:45am on November 24, respectively.
The provincial Department of Health asked health experts to assess the cause and report to the Ministry of Health for further guidance.
Vero Cell Covid-19 Vaccine, Inactivated Vaccine was approved for emergency use in Vietnam in early June. The vaccine is produced by China’s Sinopharm.
Vietnam administered more than 113 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine as of 3pm (0800 GMT) on November 24.
As many as 35 out 63 localities report having vaccinated over 50 per cent of their adult population with two full jabs.
Meanwhile, 59 localities have inoculated more than 70 per cent of their adult population with the first dose, including 23 localities vaccinating more than 95 per cent of their citizens aged over 18 such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ha Nam, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, Danang, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Long An, Lam Dong, Can Tho, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, Binh Duong, Kien Giang and Hau Giang.
Only four out of 63 provinces and cities posted lower than 70 per cent coverage of first dose among the adult population, namely Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Binh.
The health ministry aims to finish administering 150 million doses of vaccine – costing around $1.1 billion – for 75 million people, or 75 per cent of the population by April to achieve herd immunity.
VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
