How close are we to a covid 19 vaccine

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel in New York on May 16 (US time). — Photo from the Việt Nam Government Portal NEW YORK — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said Việt Nam cherished cooperation with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) over the past 40 years and its contributions to global efforts protecting and caring for children. He made the remarks while meeting with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel in New York on May 16 (local time) as part of his trip to the US. The Vietnamese PM noted that from a sole recipient of humanitarian assistance, Việt Nam had become a trusted partner of the UN and UNICEF on many fronts. Việt Nam supported UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022-25 towards 2030, including the emphasis on children’s rights such as every child has the right to study and life skills, to be protected from abuse and violence, to get access to clean water, hygiene and safe environment, etc. – all of which are also the goals … [Read more...] about PM Chính thanks UNICEF for help in Việt Nam’s successful COVID-19 vaccination rollout

Vietnam will remove the pre-entry COVID-19 test requirements for all foreign arrivals starting Sunday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed. The direction, effective at 0:00 on May 15, comes as the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths drop both in Vietnam and around the world. In a dispatch issued on Friday, the PM cited the World Health Organization as announcing that the COVID-19 pandemic has tended to reduce in both patient numbers and fatalities on a global scale and that basic vaccines are still effective against variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In such context, many countries have been taking steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions, including removal of pre-entry testing, the document said. PM Chinh requested the Ministry of Health to closely monitor the epidemic situation and provide timely and appropriate instructions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must direct Vietnamese agencies abroad to ask people wishing to enter Vietnam to comply with epidemic … [Read more...] about Vietnam to lift pre-entry COVID-19 test requirements for entrants on May 15

The latest decision is expected to boost the traveling of visitors to Vietnam in the context that the country's Covid-19 infections have dropped to a 10-month low. Vietnam has removed the pre-entry Covid-19 testing requirements for all arrivals, starting today [May 15], according to a recent government’s instruction. It comes as the numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths drop both in Vietnam and around the world. Vietnam has reported no Covid-19 related deaths over the past week while infections fell to a 10-month low of around 1,800 cases per day. In an official document issued this weekend, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh cited a World Health Organization (WHO)’s report that the pandemic has tended to subside worldwide, shown by the reducing number of new contractions and fatalities, and that the vaccines are still effective against variants of the novel coronavirus. In such context, many countries have been taking steps to ease Covid-19 restrictions, including removing … [Read more...] about Visitors to Vietnam no longer required Covid-19 testing

North Korea's admission on Thursday that it is battling an "explosive" Covid-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities and no vaccine programme. State news agency KCNA said the country was taking "swift state emergency measures" to control the epidemic, but there is no sign that Pyongyang was moving to accept international offers of vaccines. "All provinces, cities and counties of the country have been totally locked down and working units, production units and residential units closed from each other since the morning of May 12 and strict and intensive examination of all the people is being conducted," KCNA reported on Sunday. A day earlier North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the spread of Covid-19 had thrust his country into "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak. Despite the lockdowns, Kim and other senior officials on Saturday attended … [Read more...] about North Korea reports more deaths, says taking ‘swift measures’ against Covid outbreak

Nitin Kapoor-Chairman and general director AstraZeneca Vietnam At AstraZeneca, our scientists, lab researchers, medical, regulatory and corporate affairs teams, amongst others, have worked tirelessly to see this day. We told ourselves that this is probably the only chance in our lifetime to play such an important role in fighting a pandemic of this scale. It was our duty to offer our best to protect the people. We worked closely with the Vietnamese government, the Ministry of Health, VNVC, and other partners to deliver and support the bilateral donations of more than 70 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. Our motivation was to ensure that Vietnam would be one of the first countries in Asia to have access to vaccines to save lives. Vietnam now possesses one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and we cannot be prouder of what we have accomplished together. But as a healthcare company, our responsibility does not stop there. While the hardest part of the … [Read more...] about AstraZeneca: three healthcare priorities in the new normal

North Korea said on Sunday a total of 42 people had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown aimed at stopping the country's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak. North Korea's admission on Thursday that it is battling an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities and no vaccine programme. State news agency KCNA said the country was taking "swift state emergency measures" to control the epidemic, but there is no sign that Pyongyang was moving to accept international offers of vaccines. "All provinces, cities and counties of the country have been totally locked down and working units, production units and residential units closed from each other since the morning of May 12 and strict and intensive examination of all the people is being conducted," KCNA reported on Sunday. A day earlier North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the spread of … [Read more...] about North Korea reports more deaths, says taking ‘swift measures’ against COVID outbreak

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stopped over the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as part of his U.S. visit on Monday (local time) and rang the bell marking the end of the trading session at ‘The Big Board.’ PM Chinh expressed his pleasure to visit the NYSE, the world's largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization, and to ring the bell closing the trading session. The premier hoped that the NYSE will give support and share its experience to help promote the development of an effective and sustainable stock market in Vietnam, and build a mutually beneficial partnership with Vietnamese partners, contributing to enhancing the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive partnership. On this occasion, he witnessed the signing of two cooperation documents in the fields of finance, banking, and investment between Vietnamese and American companies, including the cooperation document between the State Securities Commission of Vietnam and the NYSE on providing support for market … [Read more...] about Vietnamese premier rings bell to close trading session at New York Stock Exchange

Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district but plans to end a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1 appeared on track. The commercial hub of 25 million found three new cases in the same family in Qingpu district. All had taken three doses of vaccine and their infections were discovered during regular testing, authorities said. The three had not left their district town over the past 14 days but had visited at least four places, including a supermarket, all of which were sealed off and were being disinfected, authorities said. The area's more than 200,000 people had been re-tested and all results were negative. "Our district will follow the precise prevention and control measures, do a good job in epidemic prevention and control and achieve dynamic clearing as soon as possible," Zhang Yan, deputy head of Qingpu district, told an online news conference. Other … [Read more...] about Shanghai finds cases after five days of ‘zero COVID’ but end of lockdown on track

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and his Lao counterpart Saysomphone Phomvihane co-chair the event. (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his Lao counterpart Saysomphone Phomvihane co-chaired a conference to share experience in designing mechanisms and policies supporting post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development in Vientiane on May 16. The Lao NA leader said that the event is a good chance for both sides to learn from each other to promote post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development. For his part, NA Chairman Hue underlined that COVID-19 pandemic has posed problems to most countries around the world, including Laos and Vietnam. He highlighted the Vietnamese NA’s close coordination with the Government and relevant agencies to collect ideas from voters, people, experts, scientists and the business community inside and outside the country on measures to respond to the pandemic. He noted … [Read more...] about Vietnamese, Lao NAs share experience in designing post-pandemic socio-economic recovery policies

He told the Vietnamese PM on the sidelines of the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit on May 13 that he had fond memories of his two visits to Vietnam in 2015 and 2016. Overcoming the consequences of war is one of the top priorities in the bilateral relationship, and the U.S. would continue to coordinate closely with Vietnam for this, he assured. He also welcomed Vietnam's commitments at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference Summit and promised U.S. help to fulfill them. Chinh thanked the U.S. for providing nearly 40 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines through bilateral channels and the Covax mechanism when Vietnam was facing its most difficult time during the pandemic. The relationship between the two countries has a special history, and it has gone through many ups and downs but achieved many positives, including the visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the U.S. seven years ago, he said. "The visit laid a solid foundation, created a basis for the development of … [Read more...] about US wishes for ‘strong, independent’ Vietnam: Secretary of State