Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam
Speaking at an online meeting with representatives from 63 provinces and cities nationwide on Covid-19 pandemic, PM Vu Duc Dam raised concerns over the threat of the new variant Omicron which has spread to many countries in the region including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
"Due to its quick spread, we have to be very careful. As the country is facing a resurgence in Covid-19, we have asked the Ministry of Health to quickly resolve some problems relating to the treatment for patients,” he warned.
"The Ministry of Health reported that they had allocated enough anti-virus Molnupiravir and Favipiravir drugs for localities so that all Covid-19 patients can get the drugs right after having a positive result," he said. "However, healthcare centres and the media have reported that many patients hadn't been provided with the drugs. The Ministry of Health needs to speed up the licence granting procedures for producing this drug so that all patients can get it easily."
The deputy PM also said that Covid-19 patients should get access to treatment right after showing a positive result using the quick testing method, instead of waiting for a confirmation result from the Real-time RT-PCR method as currently defined by the Ministry of Health.
"Due to the rise in the number of patients, sometimes it takes several days to have those confirmation results using the Realtime RT-PCR method," he explained. "It maybe too late if the disease develops quickly in some cases. So I think that the ministry should revise the regulation so that patients can get treatment as soon as possible."
Vietnam has reported a surge in the number Covid-19 infections with 15,270 new patients confirmed on Thursday. Many localities including Hanoi and HCM City have had to prepare more facilities and equipment to deal with the rising number of patients.
