People should be fully vaccinated against Covid-19

According to the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, now many countries in Europe and the US have appeared sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 and have started to get an increase in the number of cases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the new sub-variant of the Omicron strain could potentially overwhelm the old variant. Vietnam has also reported cases of variants BA.4 and BA.5. In the current travelling and trading context, new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus appearing in Vietnam are inevitable.

Currently, there is a subjective and negligent mentality with the Covid-19 pandemic in the community. When traveling on the road or in public places, people wear masks, but they don’t do that at workplace. Some people are indifferent to vaccination against Covid-19. Some even argue that there is no scientific basis that vaccination will affect health, reduce memory ... Meanwhile, wearing masks and getting vaccination are still a measure to effectively prevent and control the pandemic, which is recommended by the medical sector.

With two sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, WHO is still continuing assessing the level of spread and urgently urges countries to increase vaccination, especially for people in high-risk groups. The booster vaccination (3rd, 4th dose) against Covid-19 is necessary to protect the health of themselves and the community. The Ministry of Health also continues recommending that people actively support and proactively get booster shots on schedule. Grassroots health network is always proactive, ready to deploy and activate to promptly respond to the pandemic.

Before the sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron strain appeared on patients infected with Covid-19 in Vietnam, causing the risk of a rapid increase in the number of new infections, provincial health sector is ready to deploy, activate many measures to prevent and control the pandemic. Vietnam is facing the risk of a new wave of the pandemic that is small or large compared to the previous period, which has yet to be confirmed. However, people need to avoid panic and worry too much, and should strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s recommendations in Covid-19 prevention and control such as wearing masks, disinfecting, and getting vaccinated fully... And, one thing that the health industry must always remind and recommend everyone that only vaccinating on schedule and in sufficient doses can create an effective "shield" to protect health against new variants of Covid-19.

Reported by Nhat Huy-Translated by Kim Tin