[ti:Vietnam Speeds Up COVID-19 Vaccination Program]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Vietnam is speeding up its COVID-19 vaccination program.
[00:06.20]The country’s government hopes the effort will permit officials
[00:10.64]to loosen coronavirus restrictions in major cities
[00:15.08]by the end of the month.
[00:18.12]More than a million vaccine shots were given over the weekend in Hanoi.
[00:23.48]The capital city has been under a lockdown since July.
[00:28.28]About 5.5 million injections have been given in the country
[00:34.32]since vaccinations started in March, the Health Ministry said.
[00:41.04]Hanoi’s mayor, Chu Ngoc Anh, said Sunday,
[00:45.80]“We have to speed up the vaccination program
[00:48.64]so we can make a plan to reopen the city.”
[00:53.16]More than half of Vietnam's 98 million people are under lockdown.
[00:59.04]About 80 percent of the 5.7 million adults in Hanoi
[01:04.84]have received at least one shot.
[01:07.48]Officials aim to have 100 percent of the adult population
[01:12.76]at least partly vaccinated by the end of this week.
[01:17.36]However, the country’s overall vaccination rate
[01:21.48]remains low at about 28 percent.
[01:25.12]Only 4 percent of the population has been
[01:28.56]fully vaccinated with both shots.
[01:32.48]Vietnam was able to keep its infection rate
[01:35.68]generally low until April of this year.
[01:39.36]At that time, it had only 35 reported deaths from the virus.
[01:45.20]And last year, it was praised for keeping the virus under control.
[01:50.92]But the delta variant of the virus has infected over 600,000 people
[01:56.96]and killed more than 15,000 in just four months.
[02:01.56]Vaccine shortages forced Vietnam
[02:03.96]to slow down its vaccination program
[02:07.00]Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s business center,
[02:10.84]is the most hard-hit area.
[02:13.40]Over 95 percent of adults there
[02:16.32]have received their first COVID-19 vaccine.
[02:19.84]But many people who need to come in for the second shot
[02:24.36]are not able to get it because of low supplies.
[02:28.12]To help deal with the shortage, the country’s health officials
[02:32.84]have permitted combinations of different two-dose COVID-19 vaccines.
[02:38.76]Experts say this method is likely safe and effective,
[02:42.92]but researchers are still gathering data to be sure.
[02:47.04]Vietnam is currently using AstraZeneca, Pfizer,
[02:51.60]Moderna and Sinopharm, a Chinese-made vaccine.
[02:56.48]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM