A medical worker holds a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in Hanoi. (Photo: by VnExpress/Giang Huy)

The latest move aims to speed up the vaccination process in a safe and effective way, creating herd immunity as soon as possible, according to the Hanoi Center for Disease Control that proposed the shortening.

In September, the Ministry of Health allowed localities to decide to shorten the time between two AstraZeneca shots on their own while adhering to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the manufacturer.

HCM city has reduced the gap to six weeks. As of Sunday morning, Hanoi had administered more than 11 million vaccine doses for more than 6 million people.