Mongolia's 2021 COVID-19 Vaccination Drive: The Rollout That Reopened the Country

Editor's note (October 2026): this is an archival news story from March 2021. Mongolia's vaccination campaign succeeded — the country fully reopened to international travel on 14 February 2022, and no COVID-related entry rules remain. See how Mongolia's borders reopened and our Mongolia visa-free travel guide for current entry rules.

Beginning March 15, employees in the trade, public transportation, and taxi service industries, as well as secondary school teachers and personnel, will be vaccinated, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the State Emergency Commission (SEC) S.Amarsaikhan.

Mongolia's government has stated that by July 1, it intends to have completely vaccinated the adult population. In this context, immunization work began on February 23 and will be divided into two phases.

“According to the programme, one million adult people employed and living in Ulaanbaatar district, which is at the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, will be immunized in March and April, and local citizens living in the green zone will be immunized in May and June,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the requisite facilities, infrastructure, and staff for the vaccination have been secured, citing the country's experience in vaccinating its 1.5 million adult populations within 10 days through a national vaccination campaign when the H1N1 virus spread in 2009.

The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 15 thousand healthcare staff, police officers, and emergency response officials since the vaccination began, and preparations are underway to coordinate vaccination on a broader scale in accordance with the programme.

In the first instance, 40 thousand employees in the trade and service sector, as well as 5,000–7,000 workers in public transportation and taxi service, will be vaccinated. Furthermore, after assessing the situation, the government and the SEC intend to reopen secondary and high schools in the capital city on April 1st. There are 45 thousand employees in the education sector in Ulaanbaatar city and 25 thousand in rural areas, so teachers and school staff are being included in the vaccination plan as well.