Vietnam: Will adults administer the 4th Covid-19 vaccine in the near future? What are implement time of administering the 4th Covid-19 vaccine for adults?
Implement time of Covid-19 prevention and control program in Vietnam
According to the instructions in Section III of Covid-19 prevention and control program issued together with Resolution 38/NQ-CP in 2022 on the implementation time of the Program as follows:
III. IMPLEMENTATION TIME:
This Program shall be implemented in 2 years from 2022 to 2023. In case the epidemic ends earlier or prolongs until 2024, the Ministry of Health shall report and request the Government to consider continuing the implementation of this Program or make timely amendments consistent with the epidemic development.
Viewpoints on the Covid-19 prevention and control program in Vietnam
According to the instructions in Section I of the Covid-19 prevention and control program issued together with Resolution 38/NQ-CP in 2022, the viewpoints on the program are as follows:
I. VIEWPOINTS
1. Strengthen the unified and thoroughly leadership and directive and the effective, synchronous, and strict cooperation and management of communist party committees and central and local authorities; mobilize the political system, especially at the grassroots level; continue to improve roles and responsibilities of heads of authorities at various levels and sectors; harmoniously combine the "bốn tại chỗ" precept with support from all levels and sectors; promote the practical and flexible mechanisms in directing and administrating of the Government.
2. Mobilize the power of the great national unity bloc; mobilize ministries, departments, central authorities, socio-political organizations, social organizations, charity associations, and relevant entities to participate in preventing and controlling the epidemic; regard people as the subject, center, motivation, and objective and direct all activities towards people to create consensus; consider the victory over the epidemic is the victory of the People.
3. Prioritize people's health and lives; ensure people have access to primary healthcare services right at the grassroots level in the closest, earliest, and fastest manner; facilitate people to minimize adverse impacts on the people. Mobilize and guide people to comply with the 5K Rules, appropriate measures to prevent and control the epidemic, and vaccination, free of charge.
4. Ensure the safety, flexibility, and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic; prevent and control the epidemic by the method of risk management, shift from the objective of controlling the number of infected cases to the number of hospitalization cases that have high risk, very high risks, and death; rely on the epidemic development to shift the measure of preventing and controlling COVID-19 epidemic from infectious diseases of group A to infectious diseases of group B; prepare scenarios for all circumstances, including when the outbreak of the epidemic occurs strongly and widely, exceeding the capability of the healthcare system and in situations with new and more dangerous variants of the COVID-19 virus.
5. Increase autonomy and initiative in epidemic prevention and control; utilize changes to change risks into opportunities. Strengthen the capability of epidemic prevention and control for authorities at various level especially from the grassroots level; form mechanisms for regional or inter-regional operation in preventing and controlling the epidemic. Ensure the harmony, strictness, and effectiveness between epidemic prevention and control measures and measures to restore and develop the economy and society; ensure social security, political security, and social order and safety.
Main tasks and solutions to implement the Covid-19 prevention and control program in Vietnam
According to the instructions in Section IV of the Covid-19 prevention and control program issued together with Resolution 38/NQ-CP in 2022 on the main tasks and solutions to implement the Program as follows:
IV. MAIN TASKS AND SOLUTIONS
1. Increase the leadership of Communist Party Committees and authorities at various levels
a) Continue to increase the leadership of the Vietnam Communist Party, mobilize the whole political system especially at grassroots levels, and maximize the mobilization of resources and power of the great national unity bloc to participate in preventing and controlling the epidemic; ensure a synchronous, unified, and strict cooperation between ministries and central authorities, between central and local authorities to avoid division, overlapping, and rigid; thoroughly grasp guidelines and policies of the Vietnam Communist Party and laws of the State in a regular and strict manner.
b) Further improve responsibilities of heads of units and administrative divisions; ensure the proactiveness, flexibility, and self-responsibility; implement a unified viewpoint in leadership and directive while promoting decentralization in the implementation, ensuring resources and improving the quality of staff; promote the core role of the healthcare force and frontline forces in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
c) Effectively implement the “bốn tại chỗ” precept, especially in on-the-spot commanding, coordinating, and cooperating to effectively respond to epidemic situations according to scenarios for preventing and controlling the epidemic; ensure the effective cooperation between on-the-spot forces and reinforcement forces when necessary; develop statutes on inter-sectoral cooperation and coordination of resources in provincial or national emergency epidemic situations.
2. Complete policies and laws on COVID-19 prevention and control
a) Make final reports and assess the performance of mechanisms and policies on COVID-19 prevention and control to timely handle difficulties obstructing the epidemic prevention and control; increase the reform of administrative procedures and decentralization; prevent and control the epidemic in a public, transparent, economic, anti-negativity, and anti-corruption manner.
b) Complete mechanisms and policies on development research, domestic manufacturing assistance, application of medicines (including traditional medicines), vaccines, and bioproducts in preventing, controlling the epidemic, and assisting with COVID-19 treatment.
c) Complete financial mechanisms and procedures for receipt of aid, sponsorship, bidding, procurement, and backup of supplies, medicines (even private investments), vaccines, medical equipment, chemicals, etc. for epidemic prevention and control purposes.
d) Mobilize the participation of non-public healthcare forces; ensure social security in epidemic conditions while paying attention to vulnerable groups.
3. Regarding healthcare tasks and solutions
a) Ensure the coverage rate of COVID-19 vaccines
- Perform the vaccination to ensure the fastest progress possible; increase the mobilization for people to get vaccinated and review and check each alley, house, and people (including patients visiting healthcare facilities) to avoid omission; urgently complete the 2nd vaccination shot for people from 12 to under 18 years old and the 3rd vaccination shot for people from 18 years old or older up to vaccination schedule within the first quarter of 2022, except for people subject to contraindications; organize the vaccination in a safe, scientific, and effective manner for children from 5 to under 12 years old right when vaccines are available. Urgently study the 4th vaccination shot for adults, the 3rd vaccination shot for children from 5 to under 18 years old, and the vaccination for children from 3 to 5 years old.
- Facilitate and speed up the domestic manufacturing, technology transfer, processing, and production of vaccines as soon as possible.
- Implement the application of the national database on the population to update information on people vaccinated against COVID-19, supervise the coverage rate of COVID-19 vaccination, and distribute vaccines in an appropriate and effective manner. Perform the connection of the national database on the population with the database on vaccination to accurately calculate the coverage rate of vaccination.
b) Increase the supervision of COVID-19 prevention and control
- Increase the epidemiological supervision capability; synchronously implement the key supervision and regular supervision; increase the capability and application of technology and science in supervising, analyzing, and predicting epidemic situations at central and local levels.
- Closely monitor the epidemic development in the world and in the country; promptly amend, supplement, and update specialized guidelines to ensure the "Safety, Flexibility, and Effective Control of the Epidemic" precept while restoring and developing the economy.
- Flexibly perform the “ngăn chặn - phát hiện - cách ly - khoanh vùng - dập dịch” (prevention - detection - isolation - zoning - stamp out the epidemic) principle according to a scale and scope as small as possible, suitable for the development of the epidemic; flexibly apply the "5K + vắc xin, thuốc + điều trị + công nghệ + ý thức người dân + các biện pháp khác" (5K + vaccines, medicines + treatment + technology + people's awareness + other measures) anti-epidemic formula; study, assess, and rely on the epidemic situation to shift the COVID-19 prevention and control measures from infectious diseases of group A to infectious diseases of group B; agencies, organizations, and enterprises shall perform regular and periodic supervision and update and make reports on results of the assessment of infection risks.
- Appropriately, promptly, scientifically, and effectively perform the testing to detect infected cases.
- Establish an epidemiological database to serve the prediction and supervision including: (i) epidemic situations; (ii) virus supervision; (iii) treatment activities; (iv) vaccination; (v) capability and effectiveness in preventing and controlling the epidemic and effectiveness of treatment of local authorities; assessment of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus; assurance of domestic and international sharing of information on epidemic supervision.
c) Increase and promote the implementation of Programs, Plans, and Projects on the rearrangement and consolidation of the healthcare system
- Regarding preventive and grassroots healthcare systems:
+ Promote the establishment of Central Disease Control Centers and Regional Disease Control Centers in socio-economic regions; develop a model of Multi-functional Health Centers of districts.
+ Arrange an appropriate quantity of healthcare stations and healthcare staff (fixed and mobile) according to the population scale and not the administrative boundary, promote the role and ensure policies for healthcare staff in hamlets to manage and provide primary health care for people in the surrounding area.
- Regarding medical examination and treatment systems:
+ Completely improve the capability of provincial-level general hospitals to be able to provide medical examination and treatment, meeting demands of local people;
+ Continue to upgrade a number of provincial-level general hospitals to be able to support adjacent localities aside from being able to provide medical examination and treatment in their areas;
+ Consolidate the system of external emergency treatment.
d) Improve the capability of preventive and grassroots health care
- Increase investments in physical facilities and resources for preventive and grassroots healthcare facilities (including specialized grassroots healthcare levels in detention facilities, addiction treatment facilities, and social protection centers) to improve the capability of supervising, testing, and performing other specialized tasks in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
- Steadily ensure regional disease control centers have laboratories with higher bio-safety levels.
- Mobilize non-public healthcare facilities to participate in the COVID-19 prevention and control.
dd) Strengthen the medical examination and treatment capability
- Prepare for the establishment of facilities for receiving and treating COVID-19 patients suitable for epidemic situations of each locality, ensuring sufficient equipment, consumable supplies, personal protective equipment, and treatment medicines for such facilities; perform the remote medical examination and treatment with appropriate and effective mechanisms to ensure the provision of medicines, ensuring timely treatment for COVID-19 patients.
- Improve the professional capability and comprehensively consolidate the treatment capability of the medical examination and treatment system; prepare intensive care beds ensure the intensive care capability for doctors and nurses; increase directive, provide technical and professional support and coordinate and transfer human resources in an appropriate manner to promptly support provinces and cities in case the epidemic situation exceeds the treatment capability of local authorities.
- Access early to specific medicines for COVID-19 treatment while facilitating the acceleration of the production, technology transfer, and processing of COVID-19 medicines in Vietnam; ensure the proactive use of basic medicines to meet requirements for early treatment.
- Establish health monitoring systems through grassroots health care and accompanying physicians (provide support by phone or internet, etc.); establish mobile healthcare stations when necessary to ensure people can have early access to healthcare services early from far away or from grassroots levels. Implement activities of managing, caring for, treating, and supporting people with risks of severe complications in the community.
- Medical examination and treatment facilities that manage and treat COVID-19 patients shall update the data on medical examination and treatment; perform the supervision, medical examination, and functional rehabilitation for COVID-19 patients after their recovery within 12 months.
- Ensure that medical examination and treatment facilities perform the epidemic prevention and control while also providing medical examination and treatment for people; increase remote medical examination and treatment suitable for real situations.
- Revise, amend, and update COVID-19 treatment regimens with modern medicine and combine modern medicine with traditional medicine in an effective and scientific manner.
e) Ensure human resources and preferential policies for those who engaged in the COVID-19 prevention and control
- Mobilize human resources from adjacent localities and units when the epidemic outbreak starts; mobilize non-public healthcare forces to participate in preventing and controlling the epidemic. Introduce appropriate policies on distribution of human resources for preventive and grassroots health care, carry out social responsibilities and fixed-term job rotation.
- Ensure the appropriate structure of human resources that are doctors and nurses with sufficient capability for intensive care.
- Improve the capability of forces in the health authority, local forces, mobilized forces participating in preventing and controlling the epidemic, especially those in remote, rural areas, borders, and islands.
- Apply a 100% preferential job allowance for preventive and grassroots healthcare staff; study specific and preferential policies for armed forces participating in the epidemic prevention and control.
4. Regarding security and social order and safety assurance
a) Firmly maintain security and social order nationwide in all situations and increase the assurance of human security, security in industrial zones, worker security, and security in population; prevent complicated hot spots of security and order, causing social instability. Strengthen the fight against hostile forces, reactionary organizations, and entities that take advantage of the epidemic to oppose the Vietnam Communist Party and the State, dispersing noxious information.
b) Strengthen the prevention and fight; strictly handle acts of taking advantage of the epidemic situation to violate laws or regulations on epidemic prevention and control, especially on anti-corruption and anti-negativity in COVID-19 prevention and control.
c) Proactively follow and grasp the situation of social opinions and psychology of people in epidemic areas to proactively disseminate and mobilize people to trust in guidelines and policies of the Vietnam Communist Party, the State, and local authorities regarding COVID-19 prevention and control.
5. Regarding social security assurance
a) Fully and promptly implement policies on social security and welfare according to the epidemic situation.
b) Intensify the effective implementation and application of national population database to have a firm grasp of entities that need social security assistance; mobilize and promote the role of grassroots political systems participating in identifying entities and reviewing to ensure the correct provision of assistance, avoiding omission and loss; supplement content of social security assistance for epidemic prevention and control to the national database on social security.
6. Regarding finance and logistics
a) Ensure sufficient medicines, bioproducts, chemicals, supplies, equipment, etc. under the "bốn tại chỗ" precept to prepare be ready for anti-epidemic scenarios. Regarding a number of essential medicines and supplies, there must be sufficient reserves for the worst situation and added to the national reserve list. Proactively make plans for the use of equipment after the epidemic ends.
b) The State shall ensure financial sources for COVID-19 prevention and control on the basis of mobilizing all the state resources (central budget, local budget, grant, and other legal budget sources); local authorities must allocate at least 30% of the medical budget for preventive health care in accordance with Resolution No. 18/2008/NQ-QH12 dated June 3, 2008 of the National Assembly.
c) Continue to mobilize the participation and contribution of enterprises, organizations, and individuals and the voluntary payment by COVID-19 patients when receiving medical examination and treatment as requested.
d) Establish COVID-19 prevention and control fund on the basis of the COVID-19 Vaccine Fund, ensuring effectiveness, transparency, and publicity.
dd) Simplify payment documents and receipts; abolish barriers, overlaps, and obstacles in the current policy on payment of healthcare costs for medical examination and treatment in the context of COVID-19.
e) Implement financial support policies to ensure social security according to the Socio-economic Development and Recovery Program promulgated with the Government’s Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP dated January 30, 2022.
g) The allocation of the budget for the implementation of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Program shall be from the state budget, other legal budget sources (including the budget for the Socio-economic Development and Recovery Program promulgated with the Government's Resolution No. 11/NQ-CP dated January 30, 2022), Health Insurance Fund, payment funds by individuals, and mobilized funds from organizations, individuals, and enterprises.
h) The use of budget for epidemic prevention and control must be effective, anti-negativity, and anti-wastefulness. Competent authorities shall supervise the budget for epidemic prevention and control in a strict, transparent, and public manner.
7. Ensure the epidemic prevention and control while conducting the socio-economic development and stabilizing people’s life
a) Local authorities shall continue to implement the Safety, Flexibility, and Effective Control of COVID-19 Plan according to the Government's Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP dated October 11, 2021, ensure the implementation is consistent with regulations and unified guidance of ministries and central authorities while promoting the proactiveness and creativeness of local authorities in controlling the epidemic situation, facilitating the recovery of production, business, socio-economic development, and bringing the People's daily life back to the new normal;
b) Agencies, organizations, and enterprises shall proactively develop and organize the effective implementation of epidemic prevention and control plans associated with plans for local operation, production, and business (to communes, wards, and residential quarters) and update and submit reports on results of the assessment.
c) Continue to implement measures to ensure the safe and effective epidemic prevention and control at education and training facilities when students are directly studying; rely on the epidemic situation to organize appropriate forms of teaching, preventing prolonged online learning for students; continuously update practical experiences of the world on the safe and timely reopening of education and training institutions; regularly conduct inspection and assessment to fully understand the negative impacts of online learning, especially for children, for timely solutions.
d) Implement the epidemic prevention and control in production, transport, circulation, and transportation of goods to ensure uninterrupted operation.
dd) People and workers shall implement measures to prevent and control the epidemic in accordance with regulations of competent authorities.
8. Regarding people and society mobilization
a) Effectively implement mass mobilization, promote the core role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, contribute towards social consensus, consolidate the national great unity bloc, and strive to fulfill proposed socio-economic development objectives and tasks.
b) Increase the mobilization of people of all strata, especially union members, members and member organizations of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, prestigious persons, and ethnic minority people; dignitaries, sub-dignitaries, and religious people to comply with and participate in COVID-19 prevention and control activities; mobilize enterprises and organizations to proactively and autonomously comply with and actively participate in COVID-19 prevention and control activities. Diversify methods of domestic and international social mobilization to continue to provide social security assistance for people with difficulties.
c) Encourage charity activities to support people affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in accordance with the current law.
9. Regarding communication and information technology
a) Improve the awareness of COVID-19 prevention and control by providing information, education, and communication
- Diversify forms, methods, and means of communications with rich content suitable for each region and subject; regularly and proactively provide sufficient information on the COVID-19 epidemic, strategies, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in a timely, scientifically, and accurately manner.
- Conduct communication on COVID-19 prevention and control to improve people’s awareness and sense and change their behaviours; create faith and consensus among people; prevent discrimination and maintain the confidentiality of COVID-19 patients. Focus on conducting communication on contributions and sacrifices of collectives and individuals in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
- Proactively mobilize communication and press agencies to fight and refute false and hostile viewpoints; prevent noxious, false, unverified news related to COVID-19 prevention and control.
- Effectively implement communication associated with the raise of aspiration to develop the country; promote self-discipline and positivity of people in epidemic prevention and control; spread good experiences, examples, and inspiration to encourage the entire society; intensify external information dissemination and promote the image of Vietnam in effective epidemic prevention and control and safe restoration of socio-economic activities; promptly, objectively, and accurately transmit information related to supporting policies on COVID-19 prevention and control in Vietnam to foreign organizations, individuals, and the enterprise community.
b) Regarding information technology
- Uniformly and effectively implement the application of information technology in managing, reporting, and sharing information about vaccines, testing, treatment, logistics, social security, etc. for the purpose of epidemic prevention and control; manage people’s travel, circulation, transportation of goods, entry, and exit in accordance with regulations and international practices; apply information technology in a convenient manner for people, agencies, organizations, enterprises, and state management agencies at all levels in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
- Develop and conduct plans for ensuring data safety and security; connect data between databases and verify information on the national database on population.
- Strongly promote the digital transformation program of the national health care; promote the remote registration, medical examination, and treatment (especially monitoring and caring for the health of COVID-19 patients at home); complete and promote the electronic health record of the entire population.
10. Regarding international cooperation
a) Continue to promote international cooperation activities and intensify the role and position of Vietnam by contributing, assisting, and participating in activities of international organizations. Continue to promote cooperation with organizations of the United Nations; develop mechanisms to share information on the epidemic situation and effective measures to prevent and control the epidemic.
b) Implement investment incentive policies for the development of the pharmaceutical industry; access vaccines, medicines, testing technology, and new-generation medical equipment as soon as possible.
c) Develop mechanisms to facilitate the approval of sponsorship and professional and technical assistance from international organizations.
11. Regarding scientific research
a) Continue to implement scientific research and technological development; proactively research and apply vaccines, diagnostic bioproducts, medical equipment, methods, COVID-19 medicines (including traditional methods and medicines), etc.; facilitate the healthy competition to research, receive transferred technology, domestically produce vaccines, medicines, bioproducts for testing, medical equipment, and gradually export them.
b) Improve capability of biosafety laboratories; improve the scientific research capability for disease epidemiology, testing science, vaccines, and social psychology related to COVID-19.
12. Update, develop, and implement COVID-19 prevention and control scenarios
a) Update and organize the implementation of epidemic prevention and control scenarios to ensure the safety, flexibility, and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic.
b) Promptly develop appropriate plans and solutions to prevent and control the epidemic in case of a widespread outbreak, exceeding the capability of the healthcare system and in case of new and dangerous variants.
Thus, it is urgent to study the 4th vaccination for adults according to the content mentioned in Resolution 38/NQ-CP in 2022. This means that adults will probably administer the 4th the Covid-19 vaccine. However, there is still no exact information about the implement time of administering the 4th Covid-19 vaccine for adults.
Thư Viện Pháp Luật
