VIENTIANE (XINHUA) – The Lao Ministry of Health hopes to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population in every district and province by the end of 2022 before the country can re-open for tourism to revitalise its economy.
Local daily Vientiane Times yesterday quoted director-general of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Lao Ministry of Health Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh as saying that the ministry hopes to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population by the end of 2022, and there are hopeful signs that the goal will be achieved.
As of Thursday, over 4.7 million people (64.19 per cent of its population) have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over four million (54.8 per cent) have been fully vaccinated.
“We observe that the public realises the importance of vaccination because people are turning up at vaccination centers every day,” Rattanaxay said.
Even though the number of new cases has fallen below 1,000 for several days in a row, the infection rate in some provinces remains high.
The Ministry of Health urged everyone to continue to be cautious, and people advised to get vaccinated, as well as a booster shot to meet the 80-per cent vaccination target.
Hospitals have sufficient equipment and medical supplies to cope with the virus so far.
As of yesterday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Laos has reached 133,853 with 547 deaths.
