Deputy Health Minister: vaccine passport scheme needs to be done step by step
Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong said at the regular Government press conference on March 31 that the Health Minister is still studying and working on scenarios for the use of “vaccine passport” in the future.
Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong (left) at the conference (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) –ꦡ Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuongsaid at the regular Government press conference on March 31 that the HealthMinister is still studying and working on scenarios for the use of “vaccine passport”in the future.
Cuong noted that the issue of vaccine passport is still underdebate in many countries. In Vietnam, the Health Minister is collaborating with otherministries and sectors to research the issue and report to the Government andthe National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, he said,stressing the goal of ensuring safety in pandemic prevention while re-openingthe economy through the resumption of flights. According to the deputy minister, the first thing is to devisesuitable quarantine procedures for entrants who have received full doses ofCOVID-19 vaccine. “Related options on the matter must be considered thoroughly, soas to balance the benefits and risks. The benefits here are economicdevelopment from the reopening, but there is still the risk of the pandemicspreading in the community,” Cuong said. For this reason, the implementation of vaccine passport is notsimple, and must be done step by step, he said. Earlier during the regular Government meeting for March, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the health, tourism and diplomacy sectors toearly study and issue a mechanism for vaccine passports in order to promote tradeand investment. The health sector was told to submit a plan for this matter assoon as possible. Also at the press conference, Minister, Chairman of theGovernment Office Mai Tien Dung said PM Phuc had instructed Government membersto continue working for the twin goals and flexibly use micro policies totimely respond to unfavourable developments in the world situation, towardsachieving set growth targets./.
Standing members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control have discussed the preparation of technical and policy solutions to implement the “COVID-19 vaccine passport” scheme while ensuring the principle of “safety first”.
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will work with domestic and foreign agencies in building and applying a “COVID-19 vaccine passport” project, Dang Anh Tuan, head of the airline’s Communications and Branding Department, has said.
It is necessary to conduct proper and timely COVID-19 vaccination to ensure safety, towards the vaccination for the whole population, while considering and accessing different vaccine sources and continuing to research and develop domestically-made vaccines so that the vaccines can be put into use in 2022, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the health, tourism and diplomacy sectors to soon study and issue a "vaccine passport" mechanism in order to promote trade and investment while addressing the Government’s regular meeting on March 31.
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