Over 1.34 million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with China-made Sinopharm sharing 90% of Covid-19 vaccines vaccinated.
The vaccinated include 853,782 people given a first dose and 494,477 people receiving a second dose.
The Chinese government has provided up to 1.9 million doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to the Lao PDR.
The World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization announced last month it had thoroughly assessed the data on quality, safety and efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine and had recommended its use for people aged 18 and above.
The government is doing its utmost to have 50 per cent of population in the country injected with Covid-19 vaccines, according to a health official.
“Some 3.7 million people across the country are expected to be vaccinated against Covid-19 this year and we need 7.4 million doses of the vaccine to achieve such a goal,” Dr Phonepaseuth Ounaphom, Director General, Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion, Ministry of Health told a press conference in Vientiane on Jun 24.
The government is working with international organisations to procure Covid-19 vaccines and has mobilized business community to contribute to its procurement efforts to secure Covid-19 vaccines for people in the country.
Laos has been allocated a quota of 6,606,084 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
“The vaccine will gradually come to us according to the allocation by the COVAX Facility because the Covid-19 vaccine is needed by people around the world,” said Dr. Phonepaseuth.
“As for go receiving Covid-19 vaccine, deciding what kind of vaccine can be given is the duty of doctor. It’s not the duty of recipients to choose what kind of vaccine they want because all vaccines delivered to Laos have been tested by the Department of Food and Drugs and are safe,” said the Director General of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion.
Relevant authorities are working on how to speed up Covid-19 vaccination registration. An online mean will be chosen for Covid-19 vaccination registration process to ensure people gain a safe access to Covid-19 vaccine.
“We have learned from precious vaccinations that it is risky to have a lot of people packing into one place to get vaccinated. This puts them at risk of getting the virus rather than getting protection from being vaccinated. Therefore, the Ministry of Health and business community will make Covid-19 registration available online,” said Dr. Phonepaseuth.
Source: Lao News Agency