HCMC - The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has proposed borrowing 500,000 doses of China's Vero Cell vaccine from HCMC to vaccinate its factory workers to prepare to reopen production activities.

According to a document sent to the HCMC government on September 11, the pandemic has been raging in southern provinces, including Tien Giang. As of September 11, the province had recorded more than 12,000 Covid-19 cases, including 297 deaths. The provincial government has taken the initiative to seek vaccine supplies so that the province can soon reach herd immunity, the local media reported. However, vaccine supplies have remained scarce. Meanwhile, many enterprises in the province have suspended their operations due to the pandemic. Some have applied the stay-at-work mode but have also halted their operations as Covid-19 cases have been detected at their enterprises. If the situation remains unchanged, production chains in the province and the supply of materials for enterprises in other parts of the country will be disrupted. Enterprises have also found it hard to complete the contracts signed with their partners. Tien Giang will return the vaccine to HCMC at the earliest. In August, the HCMC government asked the Ministry of Health for permission to share five million doses of the Vero Cell vaccine with other provinces in need. The five million doses of the vaccine made by Sinopharm were donated by HCMC-based Van Thinh Phat Group.