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By Khanh Vu
HANOI, May 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam's health ministry on Friday
reported its first death in a patient who received AstraZeneca's
COVID-19 vaccine shot, as the country is battling a new
outbreak.
A 35-year-old female health worker in the southern province
of An Giang died on Friday, one day after she received her first
coronavirus vaccine shot, the Ministry of Health said in a
statement, adding that she died from allergic reaction known as
anaphylaxis.
"This is a very rare case in the vaccination against
COVID-19," the ministry said in the statement.
The Southeast Asian country has inoculated around 750,000
people against the coronavirus since it started its vaccination
campaign early March, according to the ministry. All of the
shots used are from AstraZeneca.
Vietnam has been praised for its record in containing its
outbreaks quickly through targeted mass testing and a strict,
centralised quarantine programme.
Friday's death comes as the country is battling a new
outbreak that began early last week and is spreading rapidly in
many parts of the country, including the capital Hanoi.
The ministry reported 47 new infections on Friday, raising
the total number of cases in the country to 3,137, with 35
deaths.
The government last week said its COVID-19 vaccine rollout
would be expedited, with the aim of administering all of the
928,800 AstraZeneca doses it had received so far by May 15.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu, editing by Louise Heavens)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
