Localities directed to continually monitor COVID-19 situation
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on April 16 again asked localities to continue keeping a close watch on the COVID-19 situation and to strictly implement pandemic prevention measures in the time to come, especially in border areas.
Vietnam will continue using the AstraZenecca vaccine in the time to come. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on April 16 again asked localitiesto continue keeping a close watch on the COVID-19 situation and to strictly implementpandemic prevention measures in the time to come, especially in border areas.
Addressing an online meeting with representatives from 63 provinces and cities,and their health sectors on accelerating COVID-19 prevention and vaccination efforts,Long warned that Vietnam is in danger of experiencing another outbreak.
He stressed that controlling the pandemic this year will be very difficult forall countries, not just Vietnam.
At the meeting (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam has gone 21 straight days with no new cases of domestic transmission,he said, while also noting that the situation remains complex in the world andthe region. The country is still organising commercial flights to bring Vietnamesecitizens home, he added.
The Ministry of Health - the standing agency of the National Steering Committeefor COVID-19 Prevention and Control - will continue to strengthen its directionas well as inspection and supervision of high-risk areas.
He underlined the urgent need to prevent illegal travel in border areas and to strictlytackle violations.
Regarding vaccinations, Long said the ministry has made efforts to negotiatewith suppliers around the world to purchase larger volumes as soon as possible.
In addition to more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that wereimported into Vietnam at the end of February, 811,200 more doses of AstraZeneca,sponsored by the COVAX Facility throughUNICEF, have also arrived in the country.
Forty-nine out of Vietnam’s 63 cities and provinces nationwide have beenprovided with vaccines from the second batch, he said.
The ministry has directed localities to promptly map out plans and speed upvaccinations, towards completing the task by May 5.
So far, 75,000 people have received COVID-19 vaccinations, Long said, and affirmedthat Vietnam will continue using the AstraZenecca vaccine in the time to come.
At the meeting, a representative of the World Health Organisation praisedVietnam’s efforts and affirmed that the benefits vaccines offer far outweighthe risks.
Also on April16, the last COVID-19 patient in northern Hai Duong province, which wasVietnam’s largest hotspot during the third wave of outbreaks, was dischargedfrom hospital./.
Six volunteers participating in the human trials of Vietnam’s second homegrown candidate vaccine Covivac got their second shots of the vaccine on April 12.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City on April 12 received over 34 billion VND (1.47 million USD) from businesses, local residents and overseas Vietnamese to buy COVID-19 vaccines.
As of 5pm on April 13, there were only nine COVID-19 patients still under treatment in the northern province of Hai Duong, which was the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot in the latest resurgence that began on January 27.
Vietnam is working to soon develop its own home-made COVID-19 vaccines, a representative from the Health Ministry told a meeting of the standing board of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on April 14.
Vietnam reported 16 imported cases of COVID-19 in the past 12 hours to 6pm April 14, raising the national count to 2,733, according to the Ministry of Health.
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.
Vietnam will continue using the AstraZenecca vaccine in the time to come. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 
At the meeting (Photo: VNA) 
