The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control have agreed to further tighten all regulations on pandemic prevention and control on flights after the resurgence of community-associated infections in Ho Chi Minh City.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee
for COVID-19 Prevention and Control speaks at the meeting

The National Steering Committee said during its December 7 meeting that the COVID-19 infection into the community has basically brought under control in the southern metropolis after 48 hours of effective response to epidemic containment.

Steering Committee members underlined the need to pinpoint the causes of community infections in order to work out practical and effective solutions to avoid similar situations in the time to come.

The Steering Committee emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic in the world remains very complicated, with over half a million new infected cases reported every day. Especially, the daily fatality count over the consecutive days has crossed 10,000.

Despite vaccine production showing a very positive signal, it is anticipated that Vietnam will be able to get access to the vaccine at the earliest until the end of the year, including its purchase from overseas.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the Steering Committee, in addition to realizing the dual goal, it is essential to receive high-tech experts and Vietnamese citizens facing difficulties in pandemic-hit areas.

Accordingly, the source of the disease transmission from legal imported cases is also very dangerous, with the fact that just happened in Ho Chi Minh City.

All regulations should be tightened on flights, with epidemic prevention measures on planes being carried out as rigorous as in hospitals where COVID-19 patients are under treatment.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long underscored the necessity of taking strict prevention and control measures as Vietnam would only massively provide a COVID-19 vaccine in the second quarter of 2022 at the earliest.

The minister also asked for tightening border management, and the supervision of quarantine at home and lodging facilities, while stressing that any violations of pandemic prevention and control regulations must be strictly handled.

The Ministry of Health is currently racing against time for COVID-19 vaccine study, test and production.

The HCM City-based Nanogen Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd, one of the four units that are joining the COVID-19 vaccine production in Vietnam, is set to work together with the Vietnam Military Medical University to officially recruit volunteers for the first phase of human trials on December 10, Long stated.