Nearly 500 workers from Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (SABECO)’s associated companies and brewery including Saigon Cu Chi brewery, Satraco and Mesab and others out of nearly 1,000 workers in Cu Chi Northwest Industrial Zone on Wednesday got inoculated as part of HCM City’s largest-ever COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Saigon Cu Chi brewery is SABECO’s first brewery that is eligible for vaccination support in the largest COVID-19 vaccination drive in HCM City, with more than 830,000 doses for workers in large industrial zones.

SABECO has quickly responded to the Government’s offer and worked under HCM City’s Centre for Disease Control (HCDC)'s instructions to support a safe vaccination site and provide necessary ancillary equipment for the vaccination day.

It worked with HCDC, medical forces to prepare for nearly 500 SABECO employees under vaccination programme.

Nguyen Huu Loc, Director of Saigon – Cu Chi brewery said: “Being the first batch to be vaccinated, we feel very secure and believe that the results will be satisfactory for all workers.

"After being informed about the vaccination programme from HCM City's authority; for export processing zones and industrial zones, we have actively made a list of vaccinated workers in the brewery and received great support from most of the employees. Therefore, even though we were only officially notified from the health sector a day before, we were still able to get prepared and get ready in accordance with the regulations and requirements from the Ministry of Health.

"We’ve used the brewery's cafeteria, which has a very spacious and airy area of ​​​​over 500 square metres as the place for medical staff and vaccinated workers and installed all the necessary precautions of one-way rule, with specific and clear signposts.”

Do Thi Kim Loan, Head of the Accounting Department of the brewery, breathed a sigh of relief after getting vaccinated.

“My house is in Go Vap Area - which is considered a hot spot of the pandemic area recently - so I always live with lots of fear," she said.

"When the factory informed me about the vaccination, I was very happy to be prioritised to receive the vaccine considering the current complicated situation of the pandemic.

"I was even more reassured when the medical staff told me that we were vaccinated with 836,000 doses of the vaccine sponsored by the Japanese government.”

Nguyen Duc Minh, a worker at the Electro-Mechanical section, said: “Since the start of COVID-19, we have received the most considerate attention from the company. We are provided working equipment that complies with the 5k regulations.

"Knowing that we have been given the top priority to get vaccinated, we are very happy. My wife has also received a shot at Tan Thuan Industrial Zone, so now my entire family feels very safe.”

SABECO is currently working to source COVID-19 vaccines for its 12,000 employees across the country. Frontline workers are the priority target group in SABECO's COVID-19 vaccination plan.

As the pandemic situation in Viet Nam is becoming increasingly complicated, SABECO is one of the first companies to work with the Government to source COVID-19 vaccines for its employees as well as for the greater Vietnamese people. This initiative is clear proof of the commitment from SABECO, a company which has accompanied, and contributed to the development of, the country and its people for 146 years.

During critical times such as these, SABECO is even more aware of its role and responsibility as a corporate citizen and, as such, is willing to join the tremendous and ceaseless efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Viet Nam. — VNS