The Ministry of Health on August 2, 2021 decided to allocate 63 specialized vehicles for the national mobile vaccination campaign throughout the country. All of these automobiles are sponsored by Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO) and distributed to 8 main locations of Hanoi, HCMC, Can Tho City, Hai Phong City, Da Nang City, Thai Nguyen Province, Phu Tho Province and Nghe An Province.
In HCMC, Thu Duc City is the first to launch the mobile vaccination campaign, beginning with 49 people in a medical blockade area on Street 11 of Long Binh Ward and 32 people in Dieu Giac Pagoda (sited in An Khanh Ward), a medical lockdown site due to a Covid-19 patient here.
In each location, there is a ward for quick Covid-19 test and pre-vaccination screening, a ward for the vaccination task, and an area for after-care, all of which strictly observe the social distance rule.
According to Chairman of Thu Duc City People’s Committee Hoang Tung, in the first phase of this special campaign, the city focuses on high-risk populations and lockdown areas. there will be more teams in the upcoming time to cover the vast surface area of the city to answer the public needs.
Other districts in HCMC have also set up their own mobile vaccination forces. In District 1, for instance, during the first two days of August, the mobile vaccination team performed their duty in medical lockdown areas on Ma Lo Street, Alley 52 of Nguyen Huu Cau Street, Alley 15 of Ba Le Chan Street. Over 270 residents from 18 years old were safely vaccinated with either AstraZeneca or Moderna.
Similarly, in Binh Tan District, from August 3, the mobile vaccination force is performing their duty first for more than 110 residents on Street 13 in Binh Hung Hoa Ward.
Having a small surface area, District 5 is able to vaccinate most of its dwellers at fixed sites. However, it has 2 mobile teams to reach citizens in medical lockdown areas.
District 11 will also begin its mobile vaccination campaign on August 4, with 16 teams coming to safe areas (green area) to vaccinate people from 18 years old. Each team has one doctor, one nurse, and two volunteers going on an ambulance and motorbikes. The teams use protective clothing before accessing medical lockdown areas to perform their duty there.
The district also assigns ambulances in neighborhoods to ensure people with side effects after vaccination are transported to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Each team will vaccinate around 200 residents per day. The district has asked enough doses for all of its residents.
Many people living in blockade areas voiced that they yearned for vaccine to protect themselves but could not go out. Now that there is a mobile team, they all feel relieved and express their deep appreciation to the authorities.
Whether it is the mobile or fixed vaccination site, the medical safety must be the top priority. Therefore, in each mobile vaccination team, there must be an ambulance, doctors and nurses. These human resources must be fully trained.
In each ambulance, there is a vaccine storage cabinet meeting the producer’s standards and sufficient equipment for the vaccination task. There are also oxygen tanks, anti-shock drugs, blood pressure drugs for after-care.
If there are cases of severe adverse effects, first aid will be delivered immediately. Then the quick response of the corresponding ward will help to transport them to the nearest hospital for further medical treatment.
As shared by Vice Chairwoman of District 7 People’s Committee, each mobile vaccination team in the district when coming to any ward is accompanied by the quick respond team there to deliver timely support.
