HCMC – Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally has risen to 707,436 after the Ministry of Health confirmed 11,692 new Covid-19 cases, including 11,687 domestic infections today, September 21.
The new infections were detected in 34 cities and provinces, with HCMC recording the biggest number (6,521), followed by other southern localities such as Binh Duong (3,609), Dong Nai (590), Long An (254), Kien Giang (134), An Giang (121) and Tien Giang (105).
The remaining cities and provinces reported less than 100 new cases each.
Vietnam has recorded 702,972 Covid-19 cases in the fourth wave of the pandemic since April 27.
Up to now, 475,343 Covid-19 patients in the country have fully recovered. Meanwhile, there are currently more than 5,000 critically ill Covid-19 patients.
The Ministry of Health also confirmed 240 more Covid-19 fatalities this afternoon, including 184 in HCMC, 41 in Binh Duong and three each in Kien Giang and Binh Thuan. Seven other localities reported one or two fatalities each.
To date the country has administered over 35 million Covid-19 vaccine doses nationwide. However, only less than 6.8 million people have received two doses.
As the country still has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the region, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has suggested that the COVAX Facility speed up the allocation of Covid-19 vaccines to Vietnam.
During a teleconference with the COVAX Facility’s Office Managing Director Aurelia Nguyen on September 20, Chinh spoke highly of the facility’s role in the effective and fair distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines globally.
Vietnam has accelerated its vaccination campaign and still needs more vaccines to reach herd immunity.
Therefore, the prime minister asked COVAX to allocate vaccines to Vietnam as fast as possible and fulfill its vaccine provision agreement with the country this year.
Chinh also called on the facility to support Vietnam to foster cooperation with international partners in vaccine and medicine production and to access more sources of the Covid-19 vaccines, especially for those under the age of 18.
According to Chinh, Vietnam has contributed US$500,000 to COVAX and the Government is considering more donations to the facility.
