Among the 62 provinces and cities that reported new infections, the capital city of Hanoi continued to take the lead for the sixth straight day, at 1,910 cases, followed by Tay Ninh with 928 cases. Vinh Long, Binh Dinh, Dong Thap, Khanh Hoa, and Can Tho recorded around 700-890 cases each.

The ministry also reported 207 Covid fatalities in the day, including 36 in HCMC, 24 in An Giang, and 16 in Tien Giang, sending the country’s death toll to more than 31,200. Meanwhile, over 18,500 coronavirus patients were announced to have fully recovered, taking the country’s total number of recoveries to over 1.24 million.

In related news, in Binh Duong Province, between December 28 and 31, the Becamex International Hospital and the My Phuoc General Hospital will give the booster shot to foreign experts and people 18 and older that are living, working in this southern locality, according to a dispatch recently issued by the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs.

In another development, the government of Lam Dong Province has announced that this Central Highlands province will suspend operations of interprovincial Covid-19 checkpoints starting tomorrow, December 27, reported Tuoi Tre newspaper.

As of December 24, the second-dose vaccination rate in Lam Dong had reached 75.9%. Of them, the second-dose rate among the over-18s population of the province was 96.1%. In order to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control Covid, the provincial government approved the provincial health authority’s proposal to suspend the interprovincial Covid checkpoints.

By this afternoon, Lam Dong was operating two interprovincial checkpoints. One of them was set up at the Chuoi Pass on the National Highway 20 section passing through Da Huoai District to monitor people entering the province from HCMC, Dong Nai, and other southern localities. The other one is located in Lac Duong District, monitoring people coming from the neighboring province of Khanh Hoa.

Source: SGGP

Booster shots eligible after three months from second COVID-19 vaccine dose: Health ministry

The Vietnamese health ministry has reduced the waiting time between the second COVID-19 vaccine dose of the primary course and the booster shot.