As Da Nang experiences its highest new COVID-19 case numbers in two months, city leaders are ramping up vaccination efforts.
Yesterday, the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Da Nang announced the single-day detection of 65 new positive cases, 32 of which were not in isolation. These are the most significant case loads in town in the past two months.
In response, Ngô Thị Kim Yến, vice chairwoman of the Da Nang People's Committee, has requested that the municipal health department organize a walk-in vaccination site so any eligible Da Nang resident can have their shot without requiring booking and confirmation.
"This [plan] has been passed on to the health department. After the setting up is done, we will promote it on public channels so anyone can come and get their vaccine," she told Tuoi Tre. Yến added that the reason behind this is because Da Nang has been well-organized in inoculation efforts so far so there's no need to tightly regulate people.
Da Nang authorities previously announced plans to have all adult residents of the city vaccinated by year's end. As of today, of Da Nang's approximately 885,000 adult residents, 95.5% have received their first vaccine dose and 72.5% have received two doses.
On November 2, Da Nang began vaccinating 45,485 children aged 15–17 with the Pfizer vaccine, and plans to inoculate 56,740 of local 12- to 14-year-olds beginning this week, continuing through December.
Saigon began vaccinating children aged 12–17 in October and recently began exploring logistics to extend the efforts to younger kids. Meanwhile, Hanoi began vaccinating kids aged 12 to 17 this week. Thirteen other provinces have begun vaccinating those under 18 as well.
The increased testing and vaccination efforts come as Da Nang becomes one of the first cities to reopen to international tourists. Last week, 27 international travelers arrived in the seaside city. They are following a pre-approved itinerary and are required to have had two vaccines or successfully recovered from the virus and provided negative COVID-19 test results. Quang Nam, Kien Giang, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh provinces have opened certain areas with similar restrictions.
[Photo: Middle-school students receiving their first COVID-19 vaccine shots at Da Nang's Tien Son Sport Center on November 20/Photo by Huy Đạt via Thanh Nien]
