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More than 1.7 million students in Ho Chi Minh City returned to school on Monday after having to switch to remote learning for several weeks as part of COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

According to the observations of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, students of Tran Van On Middle School in District 1 had to queue up in two lines to have their body temperature measured before entering the school.

They then sanitized their hands upon passing the school gate and had to keep their face masks on all the time.

Parents take their children to school in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre

Similar procedures were applied at Nguyen Du Middle School, and the flag salute ceremony was organized inside classrooms instead of in the schoolyard.

Meanwhile, Hoa Binh Elementary School prepared automatic hand sanitizers at the gate, and all students had their body temperature checked inside classrooms.

An automatic hand sanitizer is installed at Hoa Binh Elementary School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Thao Thuong / Tuoi Tre

Following the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, all students were required to switch to remote learning until the end of the month due to the complicated COVID-19 developments.

The municipal People’s Committee issued a document last Wednesday stating that students and learners of local schools, universities, and other educational institutions will resume their normal classes on March 1.

Students attend the flag salute ceremony inside a classroom at Hoa Binh Elementary School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo : Thao Thuong / Tuoi Tre

Strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures were required to be taken to ensure safety for students, teachers, and staff members.

The city has not recorded any local infections since February 11.

Students have their body temperature measured at Nguyen Van Troi Elementary School in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Tu Trung / Tuoi Tre

A student washes her hands at Nguyen Du Middle School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A student washes her hands at Nguyen Du Middle School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Students attend the flag salute ceremony inside a classroom at Nguyen Du Middle School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A teacher informs her students of COVID-19 prevention and control rules at Nguyen Du Middle School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Two students hug each other at Le Van Tam Middle School in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre

S tudents fill out health declaration forms at Nguyen Du Middle School in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 1, 2021. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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Protecting against new SARS-CoV-2 variants from the UK and South Africa

IVAC’s COVIVAC vaccine research project started from May 2020 on the basis of cooperation with the relevant universities, research institutes and international organisations.

IVAC Director Dr. Duong Huu Thai shared that the vaccine phase 1 and phase 2 clinical research protocols have been approved by the National Ethical Council in Biomedical Research and the Ethical Councils at grassroots level.

IVAC is scheduled to kickstart the clinical trials at National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and Hanoi Medical University in early March and will conclude by this October.

According to Dr. Thai, volunteers participating in the study include 120 healthy persons, aged 18-59, both male and female. They will receive two injections of 0.5 ml each (vaccine or placebo injection) 28 days apart.

Phase 1 will study the safety and immunogenicity on four groups of different doses: 1mcg, 3mcg and 10mcg of Protein S antigen without adjuvants and 1mcg with adjuvants, along with a placebo control group (using vaccine-free ingredients) to evaluate safety and immune response to select the two optimal vaccine groups, then moving to Phase 2.

After the 1st injection, the volunteers will be medically monitored for 24 hours at the Hanoi Medical University. After the second, medical monitoring time will be four hours.

Phase 2 will be conducted at the Medical Centre of Vu Thu District, Thai Binh Province. Volunteers will include 300 healthy people, aged 18-75 (of which age 60-75 accounts for about one third), both male and female.

After Phase 1 (after 43 days of injection), if the immunosecurity results are good and the optimal dose is selected, the vaccine will continue to Phase 2. Volunteers will receive two injections of 0.5 ml each (vaccine or placebo injection) 28 days apart.

Phase 2 will study the safety and immunogenicity on two groups of vaccines with the optimal doses selected from Phase 1, with the addition of a placebo control group (which does not contain the vaccine ingredients) and in coordination with data from Phase 1 to assess the safety and efficacy of two vaccine groups in larger populations, from which considering switching to Phase 3.

Dr. Thai said that each dose of COVIVAC vaccine does not exceed VND60,000 (about US$2.6) in cost. The vaccine protects against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus found in the UK and South Africa, he affirmed.

“Very good” protective effect

COVIVAC is a liquid vaccine with or without adjuvants, without preservatives, and the production technology using the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine vector with the S gene of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine attached to produce vaccines in chicken eggs containing embryos. This technology is also used to produce vaccines to prevent seasonal flus circulating in Vietnam.

The results of pre-clinical studies in India, the USA and Vietnam have shown both safety and efficacy. After seven months of research (May to December last year), IVAC has successfully produced three consecutive batches on a large scale, with 50,000-100,000 doses per batch.

The vaccine batches for clinical trials have been assessed for quality by the manufacturers and the National Institute for Control of Vaccines and Biologicals, which has certified six batches of finished vaccines. COVIVAC has also undergone preclinical tests for toxicity, immune response, and protective effects on domestic and foreign laboratory animals.

Minister of Health Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long confirmed that the protection effect of COVIVAC is “very good.”

“Previously, we carried out pre-clinical assessment in Vietnam, but the IVAC’s COVIVAC vaccine has been evaluated not only in Vietnam but also in the US and India. The test results at the relevant centres were all the same, showing that the vaccine is effective,” said the minister.

Assessing the advantages of the IVAC in conducting the research, production and testing of COVIVAC, Minister Long said that this is a multi-centre and international study.

COVIVAX vaccine is developed on the technological lines and vaccine factories available in the country and domestic manufacturers completely master the technologies.

In addition to the NANOGEN’s vaccine – Nano Covax, which is in Phase 2 of testing, the minister said that COVIVAC is considered a potential vaccine in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nano Covax is the first home-grown vaccine and its second phase of human trials stared at the Military Medical University in Hanoi and the Mekong Delta province of Long An on February 26.

In the near future, Vietnam will start clinical trials on the third made-in-Vietnam vaccine produced by the Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No. 1 (VABIOTECH), Long shared, adding that with the production of the vaccine, Vietnam can be proactive in securing supply and ensuring health security, as well as stand ready to serve in pandemic response.

A company in the southern province of Binh Duong advertises job openings. Photo laodong.vn

Companies in the city’s industrial parks and export processing zones need around 12,000 workers, including 2,540 with a university degree, according to the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA).

Another 4,700 jobs are available for applicants with college and vocational education, and the rest are for manual workers, Hung Hua Quoc Hung, head of HEPZA, said.

The textile and footwear sectors have the largest demand, he added.

The HCM City Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information said the city overall is expected to need 30,000 workers after the Tet holiday.

Do Thanh Van, deputy director of the centre, said trade, services, textile and footwear, food processing, logistics, IT, plastics, and chemicals are among the industries with the highest recruitment demand.

PouYuen Việt Nam Co. Ltd in Tan Binh District, one of the companies with the largest demand, needs more than 2,000 workers for various positions such as IT technicians, office and purchase staff, secretaries, quality management staff, and manual workers.

Le Minh Tan, director of the city Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, said all businesses have resumed operations after Tet with around 96 per cent of workers returning to work.

In Binh Duong Province, a manufacturing hub, more than 95 per cent of workers have returned, according to its Federation of Labour.

The federation also said 916 enterprises require 95,983 workers after Tet.

Dong Nai Province, another manufacturing hub, too needs thousands of workers to meet the expected increase in production this year.

Cao Duy Thai, head of the wage office at the province Department of Labour, Invalid, and Social Affairs, said the worker turnover rate during Tet this year is unusually low since more and more enterprises are offering benefits to retain workers, making it a tough to hire new staff.

Positive hiring outlook

According to ManpowerGroup Vietnam’s 2021 Employment Outlook survey, employers in various industries are expecting hiring to recover and grow in the first half of 2021 despite the continuing pandemic.

The survey polled 442 human resources and talent acquisition executives in 16 industries.

While 36.4 per cent said their businesses were slightly impacted by the pandemic, nearly 50 per cent said they still operate normally.

Some 56 per cent anticipated a payroll expansion while 37 per cent said they would maintain the headcount.

Only 6.6 per cent plan to lay off workers.

Two-thirds expect hiring to increase within the next three months, and 22 per cent foresee an expansion in the next six months.

The biggest recruitment plans in the period are in manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail and trading, and transport and logistics.

The construction sector saw a revival thanks to economic growth, and accounts for a fifth of all companies planning to hire, the same as manufacturing.

Nguyen Thu Trang, country head of permanent recruitment, executive search and consulting services at ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said: “Thanks to the effective control measurements and the strong anti-epidemic compliance of the Vietnamese, the economy is showing signs of positive recovery. In addition, foreign investment continues to flow into Vietnam, creating more business and job opportunities.  VNS