Being proactive to prevent Covid-19 re-emergence

Under Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s direction of "definitely not to let the pandemic break out again", Binh Duong has been proactive to launch the Peak Month for vaccination against Covid-19. Currently, all preparations for the campaign have been completed, being ready to serve people when going to vaccination sites to get the safest Covid-19 vaccine.

Definitely don't let pandemic break out again

At the online meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control with centrally-run provinces and cities just held, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh directed: Definitely not to let the pandemic break out. According to the Ministry of Health, the country has recorded sub-variants BA.4, BA.5. Especially, these variations have begun dominating in the southern localities. However, the rate of vaccination for 3rd and 4th doses and for children in some places is still low. The number of cases is increasing again and tends to continue increasing. This can overload the health system, especially in the context of the risk of "overlapping pandemics” such as influenza A, dengue fever, foot-and-mouth disease... under the peak season and dangerous infectious diseases such as monkeypox, acute hepatitis under emergence…

Dr. Huynh Minh Chin, Deputy Director of provincial Department of Health instructs health workers in Di An city on safe vaccination techniques for Covid-19 vaccine

At the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that the goal in the current anti-epidemic is to definitely not let the pandemic break out again. Any agency or locality letting the pandemic to re-emerge must be responsible before the Party, the State and people. In August, localities must complete the injection of 3rd and 4th Covid-19 vaccine shots for designated subjects and 2nd shots for children aged at 5 and 12 while ensuring sufficient vaccines, equipment, medical materials for pandemic prevention and control. The Prime Minister directed: Resolutely control the pandemic effectively, contributing to promoting sustainable socio-economic development and rapid recovery; put people's lives and health first; go to every alley, knock at the door of each house, checking each person to mobilize for vaccination and epidemic prevention and control; making vaccination against pandemic being considered as the responsibility, right and interest of every citizen.

Thoroughly grasping the anti-pandemic goal, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: "The implementation of fighting the pandemic shows that vaccines are still a decisive weapon, both during the pandemic peak and the period of the pandemic under control. Ministries, sectors and localities need to focus on organizing the implementation of the 3 anti-pandemic pillars (testing, isolation, treatment), the "2K" formula (masks, disinfection) + vaccines + medicine treatment + technology + people's awareness and other measures against the pandemic. In particular, sectors and localities focus on speeding up the progress of Covid-19 vaccination and jointly shoulder the task ... ".

Getting ready for peak month of vaccination

The current reality shows that some people are subjective with the repeated injections of Covid-19 vaccines because they think the situation of the pandemic is under stability. This is very dangerous because the Covid-19 pandemic has not been over yet and the risk of new mutations is still present. Implementing the direction of provincial Party Committee Secretary on organizing the peak month of vaccination and eradication of larvae, the health sector is currently coordinating with related sectors and localities to prepare for the peak month.

Vaccination against Covid-19 for frontline forces at provincial Center for Disease Control

Dr. Huynh Minh Chin, Deputy Director of provincial Department of Health said: “In this peak month of vaccination against Covid-19, provincial Department of Health is ready to mobilize personnel to support the opening of more local injection sites. Localities need to actively organize injection, striving in August to increase the number of children getting injection compared to previous months to complete the second dose for children aged at 5-11 and the third dose for children aged at 12-17 and the fourth dose for designated subjects. Provincial Department of Health has directed all hospitals, public and private medical facilities to be ready to send medical staff to vaccination teams of the peak month, ensuring absolute safety during the period". Meanwhile, provincial Department of Education and Training is actively updating information and guiding education-training divisions and schools to communicate vaccination contents to each parent and student. In this round, provincial Department of Education and Training has agreed on the number of students to be vaccinated, set up a plan and schedule for vaccination for children aged at 5 and 17, and coordinated with the health sector to go to each school for injection.

Referring to information about the lack of vaccines in the province, Dr. Huynh Minh Chin affirmed: Currently, the supply of vaccines to the province is very abundant. The local people should be secure and actively respond to vaccination against Covid-19. The health sector has called on each person to actively participate in vaccination and mobilize their relatives living in the same house who are at risk of secondary infection to receive booster doses. “Specifically, people aged at 50 and above; people aged at 18 and above with moderate to severe immunodeficiency; people aged at 18 and above who are in high-risk groups for exposure to Covid-19 such as health workers, frontline officials, workers in industrial parks…should be vaccinated if they have not had enough booster doses. In particular, parents should allow children aged at 5 and 17 to get enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine to protect their health before the Covid-19 pandemic which is still quite complicated." Dr. Huynh Minh Chin said.

Covid-19 vaccination sites: Children from 5 to 17 years old will get vaccinated at health stations and schools. People with immunodeficiency, chronic diseases (diabetes, high blood pressure, bronchial asthma, cancer, etc.) will be vaccinated at community injection sites or hospitals for 3^rd and 4^th doses or injected from the beginning if not already injected. For those who cannot to  vaccination sites because of their health condition, their relatives should contact localities to arrange injection teams at home. Workers in industrial parks, export processing zones... quickly register for vaccination at workplace. Frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic in wards, communes, towns, departments, agencies and sectors should register for injection at workplace to be directed to the nearest medical facilities or to receive injection at provincial Center for Disease Control and other medical facilities

Reported by Hoang Linh-Translated by Kim Tin