Deputy PM urges for guidance on COVID-19 testing at school
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested the Ministry of Health to soon issue guidance on COVID-19 testing at school and for health monitoring of children with illnesses or underlying health conditions, at an online meeting with representatives of the 63 provinces and cities held on February 17.
Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested the Ministry of Health to soon issue guidance on COVID-19testing at school and for health monitoring of children with illnesses or underlyinghealth conditions, at an online meeting with representatives of the 63 provinces and cities held onFebruary 17.
Dam highlighted the importance of lettingchildren go back to schools and stressed solutions to do so must be long-term, proactive,vigilant, and without extremes, noting that pandemic prevention and control options for schools ought tobe detailed, updated, and trained for people involved frequently.
He said it is necessary to continue the vaccinationplan for children between five and under 12 years old in line with the guidanceof the health body; to control the rate of infections at school; and to come upwith ways to properly tackle such infections and related people.
Dam also ordered the Ministry of Education and Training to furtherorganise and complete online and television teaching methods as part of theeducational reform programme instead of just implementing it during the pandemic.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)
According to a report by the Ministry of Education andTraining at the function, from February 7 to date, 93.71 percent of the students nationwide have returned to face-to-face classes. All universities havealready had plans for the resumption of in-person classes.
As planned, from February 21, 59 out of the country's 63 localitieswill allow kindergarten children to be back to school, while primary, secondary andhigh school students nationwide will return to face-to-facelearning.
𓄧 Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said the entire nation logged some 329,000COVID-19 cases from February 1 to 15, of whom 8.6 percent and 4.8 percent are aged5-18 and under five, respectively./.
More than one million kindergarten, primary school and sixth grade students in Ho Chi Minh City returned to classrooms on February 14 morning after nine months of COVID-19-induced online learning.
Up to 93.71 percent of the students from preschool to high school levels nationwide had come back to school as of February 14, after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students from grades 1 to 6 in all 12 inner-city districts of Hanoi will come back to school from February 21 after months of temporary school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while preschool children will still stay at home.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) welcomes the Vietnamese Government’s plan to reopen schools at all levels after closures for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam Rana Flowers has said.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) 
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) 
