Viet Nam is on the right track in combating the fourth COVID-19 wave with drastic measures having put in place, said World Health Organization (WHO) Viet Nam Representative Kidong Park. 

The WHO representative made the remarks on August 3 during a working session with Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long. 

Park noted that Delta variant is wreaking havoc across the country, but he expressed his confidence that Viet Nam is likely to overcome the pandemic with the participation of both the political system and people. 

The WHO in Viet Nam stands ready to work with the Government of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Health in this fight, he said.

The representative assessed that Viet Nam has adopted restrictive measures to combat the spread of the Delta variant which has been identified in almost all cities and provinces across the country. A number of localities have imposed social distancing rules with restrictive measures in place to halt the virus spreading in the community.

However, a surge in infection numbers has put the health sector under great pressure.

The Ministry of Health decided to establish 12 intensive care unit (ICU) centers nationwide including five in HCM City, to treat severely and critically ill patients.  

It has also dispatched a contingent of professionals and healthcare workers to southern provinces to assist with contact tracing, testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients.

In addition, Viet Nam is speeding up vaccinations to increase the vaccine rollout, but vaccine supply is still the biggest challenge.

According to the representative, the international body is ready to support the Ministry of Health in enhancing professional training for staff and infection prevention measures for healthcare workers.

The WHO representative also said that all COVID-19 vaccines approved by the WHO are safe and effective. He added the WHO would assist the Ministry of Health to enhance the capacity building of testing, evaluation and licensing of domestically produced vaccines meeting WHO-run National Regulatory Authority (NRA) regulations.

So far, Viet Nam is one of the 39 countries with a National Regulatory Authority (NRA) on vaccine regulation that meets WHO standards as also one of the 44 countries capable of producing vaccines./.