China denies claims of sickness at Wuhan lab before Covid-19 outbreak
	Hanoi yet to considere rcity-wide social distancing
	PM initiates forming of Covid-19 vaccine fund

PM Pham Minh Chinh at the meeting on May 24 (Photo: VNE)

At the Government’s regular meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned relevant agencies to go all out to implement a speedier, more drastic, and effective vaccine strategy, which he considered “very important” in the Covid-19 fight.

Chinh also called for the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Academy of Science and Technology and experts to join the Covid-19 vaccine research and production. Authorities must devise appropriate strategies for vaccine rollout, with frontline workers prioritized for the jabs.

The prime minister also suggested establishing a COVID-19 vaccine fund to mobilize resources for the strategy. The money would reportedly be sourced from the state budget and donations from organizations, enterprises, benefactors, etc. Donations to and use of the fund must be transparent.

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs were also tasked to quickly developing plans for Covid-19 prevention and control at industrial parks to ensure production process and business operation.

For his part, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said the current pandemic situation in Vietnam might become more unexpected and last longer than previous ones. However, he stressed, the pandemic had basically been controlled as most of the new cases were either under quarantine or from blockaded areas. Infection sources had also been traced.

A medical worker receives a Covid-19 vaccine shot in Hanoi, March 8, 2021. (Photo: VNE)

Accordingly, the provinces and cities with good coronavirus containment results include Yen Bai, Dong Nai, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, etc. Six localities have gone two weeks without local infections.

Authorities in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces, the current two biggest hotspots, have been deploying the strictest protocols, imposing comprehensive quarantine or social distancing at high-risk areas. Four large-scale industrial parks in Bac Giang and several companies in Bac Ninh have been suspended to contain the virus.

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