A medical checks body temperature of a woman (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – There is no discrimination between Vietnamese andforeigners during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Foreign Ministry spokespersonLe Thi Thu Hang asserted, stressing that Vietnam’s pandemic prevention andcontrol has been acknowledged by the international community.
Talking to the media at a regular press conference held online on June 24, Hang said that with a goaltowards herd immunity to make life return to normal, Vietnam has inoculatedmore than 600 members of foreign diplomatic missions, and United Nationsagencies in the country and their family members.
The Foreign Ministry is also coordinating with the Health Ministryto arrange vaccination for more than 50 reporters and press assistants atforeign press agencies' offices in Vietnam early next week, she added.
In the humanitarian spirit, the Vietnamese Government alwayscares for and supports foreigners living, studying and working in Vietnam sothey can live normally and safely, and receive medical care and intensivetreatment when necessary.
Foreign citizens will be vaccinated when Vietnam receivesmore vaccines, with the aim to create herd immunity to drive back the pandemic,Hang affirmed.
Commenting on the New York Times' article on June 2saying that Vietnam’s past achievement in the COVID-19 fight is a “luck”, the ForeignMinistry spokesperson stated that this is a completely subjective opinion.
According to her, since the COVID-19 outbreak, with the goalsof ensuring public health, preventing the spread of the disease and maintainingsocio-economic development, Vietnam has made strategic decisions, along with drasticand creative directions from the central to local levels.
The government has implemented many timely and drasticmeasures, including those applied for the first time in pandemic prevention andcontrol, such as preventing the spread of the coronavirus from outside byrestricting entry, quarantining all people entering the country, zoning out andstamping out outbreaks, tracing possible contacts with confirmed patients, andclosely monitoring quarantined people.
To proactively control the pandemic during the new normal,the Ministry of Health issued the 5K message of khau trang (facemask), khukhuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), andkhai bao y te (health declaration), and most recently the 5K plus vaccinemessage, to call on every Vietnamese citizen to follow in order to live safely with the pandemic.
With the determination, efforts and the engagement of theentire political system and people, especially the frontline forces, Vietnamhas overcome three waves of the pandemic.
“Using the experience and building on success in dealing with previous resurgence of outbreaks,along with the increasing understanding and capacity of medical workers andtesting capacity, Vietnam has step by step controlled the complicated fourth wave of outbreaks, and ensured the life as well as production activities of its people,”Hang stressed.
Vietnam is actively implementing the vaccination campaign, andpreparing the best conditions for planning and deploying the campaign nationwidein an appropriate, scientific and effective roadmap towards herd immunity.
“The results in Vietnam’s pandemic prevention and control overthe past times have been acknowledged and appreciated by the international community,the World Health Organisation and many countries. Public opinion and the press,including the US press, have recognized Vietnam as a role model in the pandemicprevention and control,” the spokesman emphasized./.
VNA
