Covid 19 testing

Foreigners in Hà Nội received the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine in early November. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese health ministry has urged localities to prepare to administer COVID-19 booster vaccine shots, which could start within December, with priority on over 50s and frontline workers. Localities are urged to complete the vaccine drive for the population,  then begin booster shots, usually given typically six months after the last dose. Mixing and matching vaccines is allowed, according to health ministry. The additional COVID-19 shots will first go to the adults (from 18 years old), especially people above 50 years who have been fully inoculated (one dose, two doses, or three doses depending on the vaccine types) and are moderately or severely immunocompromised (for example, people who just underwent organ transplant operation, people with cancer or HIV, or taking immune checkpoint inhibitors, etc.). The additional shots will either be the same …

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Testing for COVID-19 in Vung Tau (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam recorded 14,508 infections of COVID-19 in 61 localities during 24 hours from 4pm November 30 to 4pm December 1, including two imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health. Ho Chi Minh City continued to record the highest number of infections with 1,675, followed by Can Tho with 989 and Soc Trang province with 757. The national tally reached 1,252,590. According to the Ministry of Health ’s report, 6,497 patients nationwide are in serious conditions, with 674 requiring invasive ventilation and 14 on life support (ECMO). On the day, the country saw 196 deaths from the disease. The death toll now hits 25,448. A further 2,704 patients were given the all-clear, taking the total number of recoveries to 992,052. By November 30, the country had injected over 123.44 million doses of vaccines, with more than 51.7 million people now fully inoculated./. VNA …

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A standard Covid-19 vaccine course normally entails two doses of either AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna or Sinopharm. They may also have only one dose (Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik Light) or three doses (Abdala). An additional vaccine dose could be given at least 28 days after the last shot of the normal course. A booster shot meanwhile would be given at least six months after the last vaccine shot, which could either be the normal course or additional dose, the ministry said. The health ministry's decision means a third Covid-19 vaccine dose would be given starting December. Additional vaccine shots would be given to adults, prioritizing those above 50 or that have compromised immune systems, either by having conditions like cancer or HIV or using drugs to suppress immune responses. Additional shots could either be the same vaccine they received during the normal course or one from vaccines that utilize mRNA technologies, like Pfizer or Moderna. Booster shots would also be …

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High school students in Hà Nội inoculated against COVID-19. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng HÀ NỘI — School principals and experts have welcomed the return of in-person learning as schools in Hà Nội prepare for a limited reopening. Secretary of Hà Nội's Party Committee Đinh Tiến Dũng announced earlier this week that the city is preparing to resume in-person classes for high school students in low and medium-risk areas from this month. The plan is expected to be implemented between December 6 and 12. Taking into consideration the complicated developments of the pandemic in the capital city, Dũng said: “It is a must to be well-prepared in allowing children to return to school, ensuring requirements are met and students’ health is the top priority”. He also noted that teachers who are not fully vaccinated are only allowed to teach online, and that students must bring their own water and in-person classes only take place either in the morning or in the afternoon, not the …

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Nidec Vietnam Corporation in HCM City continues to have workers living onsite. Many businesses in HCM City have resumed full operations despite strict preventive regulations and human resource shortages. — Photo nhandan.vn Though the COVID-19 pandemic remains unpredictable, many businesses in the country’s pandemic hotspot HCM City have resumed full operations despite stringent prevention protocols and human resource shortages. Dang Cong Binh, director of DLG Ansen Electronics Co., Ltd in the HCM City Hi-Tech Park, said his plant has resumed full operations with almost all workers returning to work. The firm, whose order book is full until the end of 2022, is speeding up production to meet orders from the US and EU, he said. To get orders amid the pandemic, it live-streams videos of its production lines and workers to gain customers’ trust, he said. Workers take turns to work overtime to ensure orders are fulfilled during the peak year-end season, he added. A spokesperson …

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Students from the first, ninth and 12th grade in HCM City will return to school on December 13 as part of a two-week pilot programme. VNA/VNS Photo by Thu Hoài HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Committee will begin a pilot school reopening period on December 13. Under the plan, students from the first, ninth and 12th grade can return to school on December 13, while five-year-old children can go to kindergarten on December 20. The city will allow Thạnh An Kindergarten, the Thạnh An Primary School, and the Thạnh An Secondary and High School to welcome back students at all levels on December 13. Schools must discuss pandemic safety measures with parents and submit plans to city districts' and Thủ Đức City's pandemic prevention and control steering committees by December 5. They must also offer training on pandemic prevention and control to all teachers and staff. The pandemic prevention and control steering committees are responsible for checking and supervising …

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November CPI up 0.32 percent The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in November was up by 0.32 percent compared to October, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). It was driven by the hikes of prices of petrol and gas across the globe, as well as consumer goods and services in localities in the new normal. Among 11 groups of main commodities and services, nine experienced rising prices. In the first 11 months, the CPI went up 1.84 percent compared to the same period last year, the lowest level since 2016, attributed to the fuel price hikes by 30.32 percent year-on-year, after 20 adjustments. Housing and construction materials posted a year-on-year expansion of 6.8 percent and education grew 2.44 percent. Meanwhile, foodstuff inched down 0.52 percent and electricity prices dropped 1.06 percent against the same period last year. As COVID-19 prompted travel restrictions, air ticket prices fell 21.39 percent while travel package slipped 2.42 percent. Core inflation in …

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Futsal The national women's futsal team will train in HCM City from December 5 to prepare for the SEA Games. Photo of VFF HÀ NỘI — The national women's futsal team will begin training on December 5 in preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hà Nội next May. Coach Trương Quốc Tuấn has announced a list of 22 players who will meet in HCM City for the tournament. Most of them are from HCM City teams while the rest are from Hà Nội, Hà Nam and Thái Nguyên. Apart from several seniors such as Trịnh Nguyễn Thanh Hằng, Nguyễn Thị Châu and Lê Thị Thùy Linh , the rest of the squad is made up mainly of new comers. "Some of my experienced players retired or moved to other jobs," Tuấn said. "Some others have not recovered from injuries while some of them are training with the national football team in Hà Nội, so I have to name new faces. In the next seven weeks, the coaching board will review the list and test all players, especially those who we have called up …

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JOHANNESBURG -- The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a threefold higher risk of reinfection than the currently dominant Delta variant and the Beta strain, a group of South African health bodies said on Thursday. The South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (SACEMA) and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the latest findings "provide epidemiological evidence for Omicron's ability to evade immunity from prior infection". Their statement was issued after a group of South African health organisations published a paper on medrxiv.org as a pre-print, meaning the work was not yet certified by peer review. Earlier in the day, microbiologist Anne von Gottberg at NICD had echoed the same views at an online news conference hosted by the World Health Organization, saying South Africa was seeing an increase in COVID-19 reinfections due to Omicron. South Africa had been seeing a sudden spike in daily reported cases of coronavirus …

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