Health professional discusses reasons behind Vietnam’s late use of “vaccine passports”
Director General of the General Department of Preventive Medicine Dang Quang Tan has mentioned three reasons for Vietnam not yet accepting “vaccine passports”.
Hanoi (VNA) - Director General of the General Department of Preventive Medicine 🎃Dang Quang Tan has mentioned three reasons for Vietnam𓂃 not yet accepting “vaccine passports”.
Vaccines, he said, only reduce the seriousness of diseases when people are infected.
Secondly, different countries are using different COVID-19 vaccines, such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sputnik V, and Sinovac, with varying protection efficacy.
The final reason is that the use of vaccine passports depends on the level of community immunity.
The pandemic continues to spread quickly around the world, with 600,000 - 700,000 new cases and 1,000 - 2,000 deaths each day on average.
Vietnam has now gone about a month without any community transmissions, but the pandemic is becoming complicated throughout Southeast Asia. Several regional and neighbouring countries are experiencing new outbreaks due to large gatherings of people.
The Health Ministry has proposed that those who receive recommended vaccinations could have their quarantine time reduced, which is waiting for approval from top ministry officials and the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
Director General of the General Department of Preventive Medicine Dang Quang Tan (Photo: VNA)
According to Tan, if vaccine passports are accepted without close monitoring, the risk of infection in the community will be extremely high. In the past, several people tested negative once but were then found to have the virus several days later.
He added that Vietnam is considering the pilot application of vaccine passports in tourist areas and several golf courses.
A vaccine passport is a certificate proving that one has been vaccinated against COVID-19 as recommended by the manufacturers or State management agencies. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has yet to recommend the scheme. Only Singapore is piloting the measure, on a small scale./.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has sent a report to the Ministry of Transport on the application of vaccine passports for people entering Vietnam.
Vietnam has not yet issued specific entry requirements for people who are vaccinated against COVID-19, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said at the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on April 8.
A “vaccine passport” must include a QR code or its holder should show a COVID-19 vaccination certificate issued by competent authorities in countries and territories that have reached bilateral and multilateral agreements with Vietnam on this regard when entering Vietnam, the Ministry of Health has said.
The patient, Tieu Viet But, born in 1970 and residing in Binh Tri commune, Binh Son district, the central province of Quang Ngai, was working aboard fishing vessel Qng – 95657TS when the incident occurred at 7:00 am.
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To achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2045, Vietnam is prioritising the integration of AI and digital tools into the training of future doctors, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung, Dean of Medicine at University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam National University (VNU) Hanoi.
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The PM called for closer, broader, and more effective cooperation with Vietnamese partners, guided by the principles of mutual benefit, joint efforts, shared outcomes, and common development, including promoting stronger public-private partnerships and collaboration with businesses.
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Leading Vietnamese companies specialising in respiratory and dermatological treatments, traditional medicine, immune support supplements, and functional foods will have an opportunity to connect with international distributors and secure export deals.
The project aimed to enable early detection and reduce the risk of dangerous complications, targeting patients with chronic diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and metabolic disorders.
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The groundbreaking ceremony took place one day after the VNVC Vaccine JS Company and Sanofi Group exchanged cooperation documents on vaccine production technology transfer under the witness of State President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vietnam’s traditional medicine took centre stage at the International Congress Biopharm Nonclinical Development, BioNCiD 2025, held on May 25-26 in the Cuban city of Varadero, amid growing global interest in sustainable healthcare solutions.
Under the agreement, VNVC and Sanofi will gradually implement technology transfers to enable domestic production of several key Sanofi vaccines that are widely used in Vietnam. In addition, Sanofi will support VNVC in training human resources and quality management in vaccine research and manufacturing.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 25,000 COVID-19 cases have been recorded globally over the past month. Notably, from January 1 to May 10, Thailand reported nearly 54,000 infections and 16 deaths. The rise in cases in Thailand has been linked to the spread of XBB.1.16 subvariant.
Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)
Director General of the General Department of Preventive Medicine Dang Quang Tan (Photo: VNA)
