The information was announced by Nguyen Huy Nga, head of the Health Ministry's Preventive Medicines and Environment Department on January 4.

Top priority for vaccinations will be given to pregnant women and medical workers who are in direct contact with A/H1N1 patients.

So far, almost 740,000 pregnant women are waiting to be vaccinated against the deadly virus by February.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked countries to launch their vaccination campaigns two weeks after receiving the A/H1N1 vaccine.

The WHO also warned that the risk of reactions to the vaccine may occur amongst people who have had a serious reaction to standard flu vaccines or those who are allergic to eggs and egg products.