Students in Grades 5, 6, 9, 10 and 12, from the city's 18 suburban districts and townships, will return to school on November 8. (Photo: VNA)

Students in Grades 5, 6, 9, 10 and 12, from the city's 18 suburban districts and townships, will be the first to return to in-person classes. The remaining grades, and students from the inner city, will continue learning online. Kindergartens will remain closed too.

The decision was made on Monday. These districts and townships are at low and medium pandemic risk.

The Department of Education and Training said schools with students living in different areas of the city must monitor the local regulations of where their students reside, as they may differ from those that apply to the school.

Schools are required to meet the safety requirements issued by the Department of Education and Training and the Department of Health. They must make plans to ensure the distance between students and the number of students in each class.

Teachers who have not received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are not allowed to teach in-person classes.

The local steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control will suspend in-person learning if there are more infection cases to ensure the safety of students and teachers.

The city authorities also require schools not to serve meals at school, only teach one session a day and combine with online teaching.

Hanoi issues plan to administer COVID-19 vaccines for 850,000 children aged 12-17

Hanoi People's Committee on Monday made public its plan to vaccinate about 700,000-850,000 children aged 12-17, after a number of localities in the country, including HCM City, have already started inoculation campaigns for children.

All children aged between 12 and 17 years old, including those who do not attend school in person, will be vaccinated if they meet the indications recommended by the vaccine manufacturers and the Health Ministry.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Hanoi (HCDC) has listed about 700,000-850,000 children in the mentioned age range that need vaccination.

If students attend school in person, they will be vaccinated at school. If there is an outbreak and they cannot attend school in person, they will receive their shots at a local vaccination site. 

If the number of vaccines it received is not sufficient, Hanoi will prioritise the distribution of vaccines in localities with the following characteristics: having witnessed new community COVID-19 cases, high population density, having crowded places with many service providers and schools, bordering provinces with a complicated outbreak, transportation gateways, or having centralised quarantine facilities.

Under different circumstances, adjustments and specific priorities for each locality will be made to ensure that the children in outbreak-affected areas will be vaccinated first.

The Health Ministry has approved two kinds of vaccines for children, including Pfizer's Comirnaty and Moderna's Spikevax.

It is expected that all children aged 12-17 will have received their first vaccine shots within the fourth quarter of this year.

Experts recommend parents shouldn't let their children be too active within 3 days of vaccination due to risks of myocarditis.

COVID-19 vaccination is contraindicated for children with a clear history of anaphylaxis to the previous vaccine shot or its components.

The children have to delay vaccination when there is an acute illness or other factors. 

Children with a history of allergy, or cognitive and behavioural disorders should be cautious when getting vaccinated.

Children with congenital and chronic diseases can still get vaccinated but they must have their vaccines at a hospital, under the doctors' assessments and decisions.

Hanoi has administered 9,826,235 shots to date, with 6,074,086 people having received at least one dose of vaccine.

Source: VNA/VNS