Vaccinations

Covid-19 vaccine provided by COVAX must be injected before mid-May

April 16, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Covid-19 vaccine provided by COVAX must be injected before mid-May

The Saigon Times

The first Covid-19 vaccine shipment provided by COVAX Facility arrived in Vietnam early this month. The vaccine must be injected before May 15 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The Covid-19 vaccine shipment that was provided by COVAX Facility and arrived in Vietnam on April 1 will expire two months after it arrived in the country, so the vaccination must be completed before May 15, half a month before the vaccine is out of date.

At an online meeting with localities on the Covid-19 prevention and control on April 16, a representative of the Ministry of Health said Covid-19 vaccines have a shelf life of only six months, the local media reported.

Therefore, the vaccination has been accelerated so as not to waste the vaccine. Specifically, the Ministry of Health ordered the completion of the first phase this month. At present, residents have been injected with more than half of the doses.

The second phase has just kicked off. However, the vaccination remains slow as localities were cautious to ensure the safety of those receiving the vaccine.

According to the Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health, Vietnam has reported no cases of blood clots after being injected with the vaccine.

The supply of Covid-19 vaccines is insufficient all over the world, so the transport of vaccines to Vietnam was slower than expected and the volume of doses was smaller as well. As planned, two more batches of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in Vietnam this month and next.

Dang Quang Tan, head of the Vietnam General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, said the world has an additional 600,000-700,000 new Covid-19 cases and 1,000-2,000 fatalities a day. The pandemic shows signs of emerging complicated again.

Therefore, the country should closely control border gate areas to prevent illegal entry.

Final COVID-19 patient in Hai Duong province receives discharge from hospital

April 16, 2021 by vov.vn

The 62-year-old patient, who is a resident of Binh Han ward, was originally admitted to Hai Duong Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment on March 28.

After recording several negative tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on April 11, April 14, and April 16, she was announced to have made a full recovery from the virus, although she will now undergo a 21-day isolation period at home.

According to doctor Nguyen The Anh, deputy director of Hai Duong Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the patient suffers from illnesses such as type two diabetes, causing her to spend a total of 51 days at hospital receiving treatment.

The northern province of Hai Duong represents the country’s largest COVID-19 hotspot and has detected a total of 726 positive COVID-19 cases so far. At present, the locality has gone through three consecutive weeks without any fresh locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases.

As of April 16, there are no COVID-19 patients within the locality, whilst all F1 and F2 cases have also completed their isolation period. Since the beginning of the year as many as 746,104 samples have been taken as part of testing for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The province is currently implementing its COVID-19 vaccination campaign and is using the AstraZeneca vaccine to do so. The Ministry of Health has therefore allocated 33,000 vaccine doses to the locality and is set to distribute an additional 10,700 doses over the coming month.

COVID-19: 14 new cases confirmed, 30 patients free from coronavirus

April 16, 2021 by vov.vn

All the new cases were immediately put in quarantine right upon entry. They are now receiving COVID-19 treatment at local hospitals after their test results were confirmed positive for the SASR-CoV-2 virus.

Of the total number of patients, 1,570 are local infections and 1,202 are imported cases.

The same day, an additional 30 coronavirus patients were declared free from the virus, boosting the total recoveries in the nation to 2,475.

Among the country’s active patients, a total of 45 have since tested negative for the virus at least once, with many testing negative multiple times.

Over 40,390 people who came into close contact with COVID-19 patients or who arrived from pandemic-hit areas are currently in quarantine and must undergo medical monitoring across the country.

The Ministry of Health has also requested that provinces and cities organize their COVID-19 vaccination supplies from the COVAX Facility before May 5.

At present, the Ministry of Health has so far distributed 811,200 doses of the COVAX vaccine to localities in accordance with the Government Resolution 21 regarding the purchase and use of COVID-19 vaccines.

The country is now in the process of continuing to implement the COVID-19 vaccination scheme as planned, with more than 73,000 people already being vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Localities directed to continually monitor COVID-19 situation

April 16, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Addressing an online meeting with representatives from 63 provinces and cities, and their health sectors on accelerating COVID-19 prevention and vaccination efforts, Long warned that Vietnam is in danger of experiencing another outbreak.

He stressed that controlling the pandemic this year will be very difficult for all countries, not just Vietnam.

Vietnam has gone 21 straight days with no new cases of domestic transmission, he said, while also noting that the situation remains complex in the world and the region. The country is still organising commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home, he added.

The Ministry of Health – the standing agency of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control – will continue to strengthen its direction as well as inspection and supervision of high-risk areas.

He underlined the urgent need to prevent illegal travel in border areas and to strictly tackle violations.

Regarding vaccinations, Long said the ministry has made efforts to negotiate with suppliers around the world to purchase larger volumes as soon as possible.

In addition to more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that were imported into Vietnam at the end of February, 811,200 more doses of AstraZeneca, sponsored by the COVAX Facility through UNICEF, have also arrived in the country.

Forty-nine out of Vietnam’s 63 cities and provinces nationwide have been provided with vaccines from the second batch, he said.

The ministry has directed localities to promptly map out plans and speed up vaccinations, towards completing the task by May 5.

So far, 75,000 people have received COVID-19 vaccinations, Long said, and affirmed that Vietnam will continue using the AstraZenecca vaccine in the time to come.

At the meeting, a representative of the World Health Organisation praised Vietnam’s efforts and affirmed that the benefits vaccines offer far outweigh the risks.

Also on April 16, the last COVID-19 patient in northern Hai Duong province, which was Vietnam’s largest hotspot during the third wave of outbreaks, was discharged from hospital.

Source: VNA

9.1 million Vietnamese workers affected by Covid-19 in Q1

April 16, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

Among the affected, 540,000 lost their jobs during the period while 3.1 million had their working hours reduced or took unpaid leave, with 6.5 million others reporting reduced incomes, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The country’s labor force shrunk by 1.1 million against the previous quarter to 51 million, the report stated.

Pham Hoai Nam, head of the GSO’s department of population and labor statistics, blamed the dark picture on the resurgence of Covid-19 before the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest festival.

Vietnam encountered a new wave of Covid-19 on Jan. 28 in what the government said was caused by the U.K.-originated variant. In February, many areas in Vietnam were placed under lockdown as authorities raced against time to contain the spread of the virus.

The service sector was hit hardest by the crisis with 20.4 percent of workers affected, followed by the processing and manufacturing industries, along with agriculture.

The average monthly income in the first quarter was VND6.3 million ($272.95), down 2.3 percent over the previous year.

According to the GSO, the unemployment rate in the first quarter was 2.42 percent, down 0.21 percentage points against the previous quarter and up 0.08 percentage points year-on-year.

Severe Covid-19 impacts have seen as many as 40,300 companies shut up shop in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.

GSO hoped the government would soon implement a Covid-19 vaccine passport so aviation, tourism and services could recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

The government closed borders and canceled all international flights in March last year, allowing in only certain categories of people including foreign diplomats and specialists and with stringent conditions.

Vietnam’s GDP grew 4.48 percent in the first quarter.

The government has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for 2021.

9.1 million local workers adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic in Q1

April 16, 2021 by vov.vn

Of the figure, the number of men makes up 51% of the total, while the number of people aged between 25 and 54 accounts for roughly 66% of the figure.

This information was unveiled by the General Statistics Office (GSO) during a press conference held on April 16 in Hanoi aimed at reviewing the local labour and employment situation during the first quarter of the year.

Out of a total of 9.1 million people adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, 540,000 people lost their jobs, whilst 2.8 million people endured temporary work stoppages.

Furthermore, 3.1 million people have seen their working hours cut down, been forced to leave work, or have been laid-off, while 6.5 million workers have had their incomes reduced.

Most notably, the third outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic which occurred over the Lunar New Year period significantly increased the number of underemployed workers in comparison to the previous quarter and the same period from last year.

Throughout the reviewed period, the average monthly income of employees reached VND6.3 million, representing an increase of VND339,000 compared to the previous quarter and a rise of VND106,000 compared to last year’s corresponding period.

The number of unemployed people of working age hit nearly 1.1 million, marking an increase of more than 12,000 people over the same period from last year.

To deal with the situation, the GSO has proposed that a number of solutions be implemented in order to remove difficulties for the labour market. This can be done through the acceptance of vaccine passports, thereby developing the necessary criteria to reopen the international tourism market in order to revive the local tourism industry.

It is anticipated that the development of these sectors will attract a large number of employees as a contribution to fully utilising the existing workforce.