Vietnam News Today (Apr. 8): 19 Countries Recognize Vietnam’s Vaccine Passport

Covid-19 infections in Vietnam in the past seven days. Photo: VOV

Daily Covid-19 deaths fall to record low of 21 in Vietnam

The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced 21 Covid-19 related deaths in 13 localities in Vietnam, a record low since August 2021.

Of the total, four fatalities were reported in Kien Giang, two each in Cao Bang, Soc Trang, Thai Binh, Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh Long, and one each in Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai and Lam Dong.

On average, 34 fatalities were recorded daily in the past week.

The April 7 figure has raised the total cumulative number of Covid-19 deaths in Vietnam to 42,733, ranking 24th among 227 countries and territories worldwide.The same day, the MoH announced 45,886 fresh infections, a fall of 3,240 cases compared to the previous day.

Apart from two imported cases, the remainder were all locally transmitted, including 33,715 cases documented in the community, cited VOV.

Hanoi capital took the lead, registering 3,635 cases, followed by Bac Giang, Phu Tho and Yen Bai that reported more than 2,000 cases each.

Two provinces - Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Gia Lai – registered to add more than 44,000 cases to the national Covid-19 database after reviewing their data.

As of 06pm on April 7, Vietnam has confirmed 10,070,692 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak, ranking 12th out of 227 countries and territories worldwide. Of the infected patients, nearly 8.4 million have recovered from the virus.

Nearly 208 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide.

Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5-12 to arrive this weekend

The first nearly one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for children aged five to 12, financed by the Australian government, are expected to arrive in Vietnam on April 9.

The inoculation will be conducted following vaccine assessment, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said.

The second and third batches are scheduled to arrive in Vietnam on April 13 and 18, according to VNA.

Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

The Vietnamese government has decided to buy 21.9 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-12.

Under Resolution 14/NQ-CP, the Government agreed on the application of contractor selection method in special cases stated in Article 26 of the Bidding Law during the purchase of the vaccine, which is in line with relevant regulations.

The government assigned the Ministry of Health to buy and implement the injection of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to the targeted children in a safe and efficient manner.

The health ministry has also sent documents to cities and provinces, providing them with guidelines in the vaccination.

Previously, Vietnam had approved Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for use in children aged 5-11 years old.

19 countries recognize Vietnam’s vaccine passport

Vietnam and 19 countries have so far reached agreements on mutual recognition of their vaccine passports, said Pham Thu Hang, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), at a regular press conference held on April 7.

The 19 foreign countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Belarus, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Maldives, Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Singapore, Saint Lucia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Iran, reported VOV.

Vietnam will begin issuing its vaccine passport for citizens from April 15. Photo: Internet

Holders of “vaccine passports” from these countries and Vietnam will be entitled to the same medical requirements as those of local people who have been vaccinated, Hang noted. Indeed, the recognition includes the exemption of procedures for consular authentication and legalization when making use of these papers in the countries of destination.

The Health Ministry announced on April 4 that Vietnam will begin issuing its vaccine passport for citizens from April 15.

The passport will be available on the PC COVID-19 or Digital Health apps. In case people don’t have these apps, then they can get their passport via email by accessing the Ministry of Health’s portal and filling in necessary information.

Vietnam works hard to reach universal health coverage by 2030

Vietnam has recorded impressive achievements in health care, and the country is working hard to fulfill the target of universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported at a high-level meeting on UHC of the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2019 that a primary healthcare system has been established from central to grassroots levels in Vietnam with more than 11,000 commune health centers, most of which have at least a doctor, a nurse and a midwife working based on the model of family medical practices.

Vietnam works hard to reach universal health coverage by 2030. Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn

The “Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2017 Global Monitoring Report” jointly produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank (WB) also showed that Vietnam scored 73 out of the 100 points in service coverage delivery index, which was higher than Southeast Asia’s average of 59 and the global average of 64.

About 90 percent of the Vietnamese population is covered with health insurance and the government has subsidized fully the premiums for disadvantaged groups and those in difficult circumstances, and 70 percent of the premiums for the poor.

Being aware of the significance of primary health care, Vietnam has enforced 10 reforms to enhance the effectiveness of its healthcare system, particularly the competence of primary healthcare clinics to provide better services for both ill and healthy people, cited VNA.

Vietnam would soon take the lead in UHC by building a firm foundation based on primary health care, with the participation of both public and private sectors.

The WB has also commended Vietnam’s efforts to reach UHC by 2030, notably in increasing health insurance coverage, raising premium subsidies for health insurance for the near-poor and those working in the informal sector, and stepping up the communication work in this regard, among others.

According to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS), as of early 2021, the number of health insurance participants totaled 87.97 million, making up 90.05 percent of the country's population.

Vietnam to take on hosts Thailand in AFF futsal semis

Vietnam will compete against hosts Thailand for a slot in the title match of the 2022 AFF Futsal Championship after the latter cruised to overall top spot in Group A following a 4-2 victory over Malaysia on April 6.

Coach Pham Minh Giang’s side thrashed Australia 5-1 on Wednesday to strengthen their lead in Group B with seven points and a goal difference of +10. However, two hours later, Myanmar demolished Timor Leste 10-3 to become the group winners, beating Vietnam into second place.

In Group A, ahead of their last match day yesterday, Thailand and Indonesia both had seven points but the hosts provisionally secured the top position on goal difference (+29 compared to +16).

Vietnam will meet Thailand in the semi-finals of the 2022 AFF Futsal Championship. Photo: Webthethao.vn

Indonesia crushed Cambodia 11-2 to take top spot but lost it shortly thereafter as Thailand overcame Malaysia 4-2.

As Group B runners-up, Vietnam will play Group A winners Thailand in the last four, while the remaining semi-final clash will be between Myanmar and Indonesia.

Both matches are due to take place on April 8, NDO reported.

The 2022 AFF Futsal Championship also serves as a qualification tournament for the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup, with three qualifying places to be awarded to the best three teams. This means Pham Minh Giang’s side will have to beat Thailand or at least secure the bronze medal in order to qualify for the continental championship.

Throughout their eight meetings so far (from 2005 to 2018), Vietnam have defeated the Thais only once.

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