The vaccination of children aged between five and under 12 years old have been carried out safely in many localities over the past few days and no incidents have been recorded so far.

The health ministry has asked localities to prepare to carry out the inoculation of children aged 5-11 years old against COVID-19 as soon as the vaccines are distributed, likely to be in early April.

Vietnam has spent a total of VND19,900 billion (roughly US$865 million), importing COVID-19 test kits since the pandemic broke out in 2020, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The Government will study how to remove Covid-19 from the list of class A infectious diseases, which are extremely dangerous, according to the anti-pandemic program in 2022-2023. 

The National Assembly Standing Committee has urged the Government to early issue a master plan on COVID-19 prevention and control for 2022-2023 to deal with many urgent issues.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has proposed allowing positive cases (F0s) and contacts of Covid patients (F1) to continue to work during quarantine. Many patients do not agree with the proposal.

Ho Chi Minh City is examining the possibility of allowing COVID-19 infected cases (F0) and close-contact cases (F1) to return to the workplace if their health is guaranteed.

Besides financial and physical issues, the Covid pandemic has seriously affected people’s mental health, with two of three Covid-impacted households in Vietnam reporting mental health problems, according to the United Nations Development Program.

The Ministry of Health has proposed to temporarily stop announcing new COVID-19 cases on a daily basis to the public amid case spike.

The Ministry of Health has reported to the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control on several issues related to epidemic prevention and control measures. 

PM Pham Minh Chinh requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic at a teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Hanoi is increasing rapidly, but public awareness about the disease is very different from before, with Covid-19 now considered endemic.

Given the emergence of various COVID-19 variants globally, including Omicron, many experts believe that achieving the goal of herd immunity to eradicate the disease is difficult, and COVID-19 may be approaching the endemic disease stage.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Health to learn from other countries’ experiences to work out appropriate and effective solutions to consider Covid-19 as a normal disease.

Hanoi on February 18 adjusted the plan to allow students from grades one to six in 12 inner districts to return to school for face-to-face learning from February 21.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health on February 17 granted permission for circulation of three drugs containing Molnupiravir manufactured in Vietnam for the treatment of Covid-19.

About 490,000 children in Vietnam were confirmed to have contracted coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to deputy health minister Nguyen Truong Son.

Thousands of people of different generations have volunteered to join the country’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, and their acts of kindness have contributed to helping many overcome the most difficult times in their lives.

Vietnam has risen a total of 28 places to reach 90th position in the latest edition of Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index which was issued in early February.

Saving the lives of COVID-19 patients, particularly those who are pregnant, has been the invaluable gift of thousands of medical workers who have been working day and night across the country.