Ho Chi Minh City debuts serum bank

The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control officially put a serum bank into operation on Thursday in a bid to increase the capacity of disease detection and prediction, easily evaluate herd immunity, and control illnesses well. Speaking at the opening ceremony for the serum bank, Dr. Nguyen Hong Tam, director of the center, affirmed that the serum bank plays a key role in controlling and monitoring diseases, contributing to protecting public health. The serum bank has a storage capacity of 400,000-450,000 samples. In preparation for the opening of the serum bank, and the assessment of herd immunity against COVID-19, the Ho Chi Minh Center for Disease Control teamed up with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in 2022 to collect more than 2,500 serum samples at many hospitals in the city for testing. Duong Anh Duc (L, 2nd), vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, visits the serum bank at the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control.