In Vietnam, over the past two weeks, the number of Covid-19 virus infections has continuously exceeded the threshold of more than 10,000 people a day. On December 10, 2021, the Ministry of Health recorded more than 14,000 cases, and the next day, more than 16,000 cases.
Vietnam is gradually returning to normal life as before the pandemic, most of the tightening measures to prevent the epidemic have been lifted with the new policy of “living safely with the epidemic” (instead of Zero Covid), the number of infections, according to official numbers, is on par with the number of infections at the peak of the epidemic in August, causing more or less concern.
In the context that the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths tend to increase in many localities, the Vietnamese government had a nationwide online meeting with 63 provinces and cities on the prevention and control of past and future directions. A key message from the Vietnamese prime minister was given at this meeting, quoted by the Ministry of Health, requesting “immediately abolishing epidemic prevention and control measures in localities contrary to guidelines and direction.” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requires “not to be negligent, subjective, or lethargic, but not afraid, panicking, or losing temper.”
Regarding the skyrocketing number of new infections, Dr. Phan Xuan Trung from Ho Chi Minh City commented:
“The data of the previous period as well as this time are only approximate, based on what is counted by the State, while the number made by the people themselves, cannot be counted. This time around, I think a lot of people slap themselves, but they didn’t report it. What makes this wave different from the previous one is that now, people have realized that contagion is one thing, death, and those at risk are another. Therefore, in Ho Chi Minh City, people are now aware of that, so people don’t pay much attention to the number of infections anymore. Just like Singapore, we don’t care about counting the number of infections anymore, because that can’t be controlled. And people only care about the individuals at risk. The elderly, the elderly, those with pre-existing diseases, if the infection will become severe, will suck up the health sector’s resources. And create a mental crisis. The number of deaths is mainly related to this number. So in the future, I think the government doesn’t need to care about how many students in the school are infected or if an entire factory or a construction site is infected. Once infected, after having immunity, they will ignore it, don’t worry about it anymore. Just focus on the group of the elderly, weak and sick. That is the difference between this one and the last one.”
High levels of vaccination normally make the number of infections potentially huge, but put much less strain on the hospital system. As of December 9, Vietnam has injected a total of more than 130 million doses of the vaccine. The coverage rate in people over 18 years of age with at least 1 dose of vaccine is more than 96%, the rate of receiving 2 doses is 76%. Some medical experts in Vietnam suggested that on this occasion, the assessment of the epidemic level should be adjusted mainly based on “hospitalization” to more closely reflect the disease’s development.
According to Vietnamese Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen, “Covid-19 deaths mainly occur in groups of people with underlying diseases, chronic diseases or elderly people with declining health.” He said that the Ministry of Health is assigning the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment and the Department of Health to assess the specific causes of deaths.
Regarding the direction of limiting the death of Covid-19 patients, one of the main measures to reduce the mortality rate announced by the Ministry of Health on December 9 is to prioritize booster shots for high-risk cases.
Soon to publish research results on antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
Regarding the assessment of antibodies after vaccination against Covid-19 to assess the protective effect of the vaccine, according to Deputy Minister Do Xuan Tuyen, “from the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Health assigned the related institutes to research and evaluate this issue.” Currently, research institutes and the Ministry of Health have also suggested: “soon to publish research and report results on cases of vaccinated or SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
Research on antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 has been raised by some of Vietnam’s leading epidemiologists since last year and has been continuously emphasized since then. However, it seems that it was only until the beginning of September 2021 that for the first time there was information about antibody investigation conducted by a medical facility in Vietnam (Pasteur Institute – Ho Chi Minh City).
Thoibao.de (Translated)
