stressing that Vietnam’s pandemic prevention and control has been acknowledged by the international community.

A medical checks body temperature of a woman (Photo: VNA)

Talking to the media at a regular press conference held online on June 24, Hang said that with a goal towards herd immunity to make life return to normal, Vietnam has inoculated more than 600 members of foreign diplomatic missions, and United Nations agencies in the country and their family members.

The Foreign Ministry is also coordinating with the Health Ministry to arrange vaccination for more than 50 reporters and press assistants at foreign press agencies' offices in Vietnam early next week, she added.

In the humanitarian spirit, the Vietnamese Government always cares for and supports foreigners living, studying and working in Vietnam so they can live normally and safely, and receive medical care and intensive treatment when necessary.

Foreign citizens will be vaccinated when Vietnam receives more vaccines, with the aim to create herd immunity to drive back the pandemic, Hang affirmed.

Commenting on the New York Times' article on June 2 saying that Vietnam’s past achievement in the COVID-19 fight is a “luck”, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that this is a completely subjective opinion.

According to her, since the COVID-19 outbreak, with the goals of ensuring public health, preventing the spread of the disease and maintaining socio-economic development, Vietnam has made strategic decisions, along with drastic and creative directions from the central to local levels.

The government has implemented many timely and drastic measures, including those applied for the first time in pandemic prevention and control, such as preventing the spread of the coronavirus from outside by restricting entry, quarantining all people entering the country, zoning out and stamping out outbreaks, tracing possible contacts with confirmed patients, and closely monitoring quarantined people.

To proactively control the pandemic during the new normal, the Ministry of Health issued the 5K message of khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration), and most recently the 5K plus vaccine message, to call on every Vietnamese citizen to follow in order to live safely with the pandemic.

With the determination, efforts and the engagement of the entire political system and people, especially the frontline forces, Vietnam has 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 and testing 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, and preparing the best conditions for planning and deploying the campaign nationwide in an appropriate, scientific and effective roadmap towards herd immunity.

“The results in Vietnam’s pandemic prevention and control over the 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 pandemic prevention and control,” the spokesman emphasized./.

Source: VNA