Experts Propose Allowing Fully Vaccinated People To Travel

A resident in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem District gets a vaccine shot in July. Photo VNA

Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor for the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, said fully vaccinated people would still need to abide by coronavirus control measures like wearing masks and keeping distances, VnExpress reported.

“Vaccines help reduce the chance of getting severe symptoms and dying, but they cannot protect one absolutely from infections and from infecting others. Such chances are still "concerning," especially as Vietnam has yet to achieve herd immunity,” Phu said.

He also cited a recent research by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) which said the viral load of a vaccinated individual is relatively the same as an unvaccinated one, meaning their chances of infection are the same.

"To reach high disease prevention effectiveness among the community, at least 70 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated," he said.

Truong Huu Khanh, former head of the infection-neurology department of the Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, said authorities should build specific mechanisms and guidelines for vaccinated people to return to business and production, taking life back to the "new normal."

He said four categories of people should be considered: recovered Covid-19 patients; fully vaccinated individuals; those whose last Covid-19 shot was over 14 days prior, and young families.

These groups of people resuming "new normal" lives is a way to sustain resources to serve the coronavirus fight in the long run, he said.

"If we wait until 70 percent of the population is vaccinated and herd immunity is achieved to open up, it would be very long. Meanwhile, we need to recover and sustain production, businesses and economic growth right now," Khanh stressed.

Sharing the comment, Nguyen Huy Nga, former head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said fully vaccinated people need to return to production "immediately." Ensuring an unbroken supply chain is just as important as fighting the virus, he said.

Checking travel permit's QR code to control local commuters' travel. Hanoi has proposed allowing fully vaccinated people to travel and participate in production and pandemic prevention activities. Photo VNA

What did the health ministry comment on the proposal?

In response to a proposal to allow people with two jabs of Covid-19 vaccine to travel and work like normal, minister of health Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry was studying the pilot project for some southern localities.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long. Photo Lao Dong

However, this still has to be implemented with the compliance of social distancing regulations, he said, emphasising that those who have been fully vaccinated can still be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and pass it on to others, cited Viet Nam News.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said those who have been fully vaccinated, even if infected with Covid-19, would have milder symptoms and a lower rate of becoming seriously ill.

The death rate among people with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine would be also lower than among those who have not been vaccinated or have been given only one jab.

However, a person who has received two injections could still be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and could still infect others. "The injections do not mean that they are free to travel and do not have to follow the recommendations on pandemic prevention and control for themselves, their families and the community", Son said.

People wait for vaccine turn in Ho Chi Minh City. Fully-vaccinated people can still be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and infect others so keeping distance in public is important. Photo Thanh Nien

Dang Quang Tan, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said in fact, a number of countries with a high rate of COVID-19 vaccine coverage have opened their borders, but after opening, the number of cases increased daily. Therefore, these countries have, again, tightened their pandemic prevention measures and extended social distancing periods.

Senior expert Tran Dac Phu added "If we open up, we need to make careful calculations to prevent vaccinated people from infecting unvaccinated ones, leading to severe Covid-19 cases and high death rates."

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