Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the meeting on May 25
According to Long, the situation in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces is still very complicated because of the fast-spread virus variant. Most of the outbreaks are inside industrial parks with thousands or hundreds of thousands of workers working in an enclosed environment.
Due to the scale of the situation, the ministry has called for help from individuals, firms and organisations to help Bac Ninh and Bac Giang control the outbreaks.
Long went on to say that building community immunity is a way to return to normal. The ministry has been searching for new Covid-19 vaccine sources. They have successfully negotiated with AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and COVAX Facility. Vietnam would buy more vaccines via the COVAX Facility under the cost-sharing mechanism. By the end of 2021, Vietnam would have 110 million doses of vaccines. It is still lower than the ministry's aim to secure 150 million doses for 75% of the population.
A fund for buying Covid-19 vaccines has been proposed in order to secure vaccines for the following years. The fund will help better balance the state budget, manage different sources of money and the distribution.
Vietnam will also continue developing locally-made vaccines. "The ministry has been working with several parties about manufacturing locally-made Covid-19 vaccines. The aim is to have made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 vaccine in 2022," Long said.
In addition, co-operation has been made in research and entering negotiations for technology transfers.
"The vaccine fund is very important so we hope to receive more help in the fight against Covid-19," Long said.
