India, Malaysia and Philippines speed up COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Facing an outbreak of COVID-19 infections in the past several weeks, India, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, are looking to accelerate the vaccination campaign, seeing it as a fulcrum to escape the epidemic crisis.

A healthcare worker is vaccinated against COVID-19 at a hospital in Kolkata, India. Photo: AP In India, the number of infections on May 30 was 165,553 cases, the lowest level in the past 6 weeks. The number of deaths also tended to decrease, to 3,460 cases and the third day in a row below 4,000 cases.

The vaccination campaign is being accelerated by India, although vaccine supply remains a big challenge. As of May 30, India has injected more than 212 million doses of the vaccine, ranking third in the world after China and the US. About 12% of the population was vaccinated with at least one dose, of which 3.1% were fully vaccinated. Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s government said on May 30 that about 120 million doses of the vaccine will be included in the vaccination program in June, a significant increase from 79.8 million doses in May. , government advisers also said that India could reach a supply of 2 billion doses of vaccine between August and December this year, mainly from two domestic manufacturers, the Serum Institute of India (Serum Institute of India). SII) – responsible for producing vaccine samples of AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech Company, the focal point of domestic production of Covaxin vaccine. In June, the government will provide 60.9 million doses of vaccine to the states to vaccinate health workers along with some other forces on the frontline against the epidemic, people over 45 years old. About 58.6 million doses will be ordered and distributed by state governments and private hospitals. Malaysia on May 30 recorded 6,999 new cases of COVID-19 and was the 5th consecutive day of outbreaks of infection. The government of this country plans to set up more large-scale vaccination centers, mobilize private medical staff to participate in vaccination campaigns in the context of Malaysia preparing to implement a nationwide shutdown. for a period of two weeks, from June 1-14. Medical staff take samples for COVID-19 testing for people in Selangor, Malaysia on May 23, 2021. Photo: THX/VNA Speaking at an online press conference on May 30, Malaysian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin said the government will establish five new large-scale vaccination centers in Kuala Lumpur and have Two more similar centers could be established in the northern state of Penang and the southern state of Johor. Each of such centers has the capacity to administer 40,000 doses of vaccination per day. The Government will also conduct training and training for doctors and nurses to perform vaccinations, stemming from the fact that some vaccines need different handling and storage methods and are different from conventional vaccines. Mr. Jamaluddin also said that the supply of vaccines will increase in the near future, so the government will mobilize manpower from hospitals and private medical centers to voluntarily participate in the vaccination campaign. According to Jamaluddin, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government is also expected to set up mobile vaccination centers at roads to vaccinate people. Currently, about 6% of Malaysia’s 32 million people have received at least one vaccination. In the Philippines, the head of the Philippine Government’s COVID-19 Task Force, Mr. Czar Carlito Galvez Jr, said on May 30 that more than 5 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to people, after nearly 3 months of implementation. vaccination campaign. People wear masks to prevent COVID-19 infection in Manila, Philippines. Photo: THX/VNA Most of these were administered to priority groups, including 1.4 million doses for healthcare workers, 1.368 million doses for the elderly and 1,150 million doses for people with underlying medical conditions. Vaccines introduced in the Philippines include Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Pfizer. Galvez also said that in June, the Philippines is expected to receive an additional 10 million doses of vaccine, including the amount of vaccine through the Covax Initiative program, 2.3 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and 1 million doses of vaccine. Sinovac vaccine. The first batch of 250,000 doses of Moderna is also expected to arrive on June 21. The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has set a target of vaccinating about 70 million people or more than 50% of the population this year. However, this plan is facing major challenges. In addition to the limited supply of vaccines, the lack of confidence in Chinese vaccines is also a big barrier. It was Mr. Duterte who recently had to speak to reassure, urging people to avoid the mentality of choosing a vaccine, but to see that having a vaccine to inject is already a good thing.