The French Embassy in Hanoi and the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City are organizing a vaccination campaign for their compatriots and the staff of the French diplomatic network in Vietnam, with the authorization of the Vietnamese authorities.
Free-of-charge Moderna jabs will be administered in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from July 27, according to an announcement on the French Consulate General’s verified Facebook page last week.
Eligibility for the campaign is limited to French nationals aged 18 and over currently in Vietnam and their spouses regardless of nationality, foreign parents of French minors, and French government employees and their spouses.
Vaccine doses will be administered at the Hanoi French Hospital in Hanoi and FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
Registrations for appointments opened on July 15 on FV Hospital’s website.
The campaign followed Vietnam’s announcement to give foreign citizens living and working in the Southeast Asian country opportunities to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Speaking at a regular press conference held online on June 24, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang affirmed that foreign citizens will be vaccinated when Vietnam receives more vaccines – an initiative in line with the country’s goal of creating herd immunity.
Vietnam has inoculated more than 600 members of foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations, she said.
In its humanitarian spirit, the Vietnamese government always cares for and supports foreigners living, studying, and working in Vietnam so they can live normally and safely, and receive medical care and intensive treatment when necessary, Hang stated.
Meanwhile, other foreign embassies in Vietnam are keeping their residents updated on the COVID-19 vaccination situation in Vietnam.
“Vietnamese authorities have confirmed that foreign residents will be offered vaccines as part of the Vietnamese vaccination program,” the British Embassy in Hanoi announced via its verified Facebook page on Tuesday.
Accordingly, British nationals in Vietnam can register to receive a COVID-19 vaccine under the vaccination program through online registration at Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccination portal at tiemchungcovid19.gov.vn.
However, the portal is currently in Vietnamese only so British nationals can use their passport numbers and register with the help of Vietnamese family and friends, the embassy advised.
In addition, the embassy said that foreign nationals can ask the head of their neighborhood groups (to dan pho) to be added to local registration lists.
Earlier, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam informed Australian nationals of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination portal, stating “registration through this system indicates your interest in receiving a COVID-19 vaccination administered by the Vietnamese government but does not guarantee a vaccine.”
“The Vietnamese government will contact eligible registered people when vaccines become available in their area,” it added.
Speaking at a press conference on July 12, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Nguyen Hoai Nam said foreigners will be among priority groups to be immunized against COVID-19 in the city’s next inoculation campaign, which take places on July 22.
Currently, Vietnam is providing vaccinations to priority groups such as medical workers, people with chronic illnesses, people aged above 65, military forces, public security forces, and others.
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