The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has issued 14 million ‘COVID-19 vaccine passports’ to the general public since April 15. A month after its official rollout, the passport is now available on the national COVID-19 app PC-Covid and the Digital Health app. It has 11 fields of information: name, date of birth, nationality, the targeted disease, doses of vaccines received, date of vaccination, lot number of the vaccine batch, type of vaccine, vaccine product received, the vaccine manufacturer, and a code for the certification. Information on the targeted disease, vaccine, vaccine product or manufacturer is compatible with the values provided in the World Health Organization’s 'COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker and Landscape' and the 'Value Sets for EU Digital COVID Certificates' issued by the European Union. Data is stored in a QR code, which will expire after 12 months. Following their expiration, users will be notified and a new QR code will be created. People who do not have the … [Read more...] about Vietnam issues 14 million ‘COVID-19 vaccine passports’
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ASEAN aims to develop global vaccine passport
Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin delivers a press statement after chairing the 15th ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Saturday. (Photo: ANTARA) Hanoi (VNA) – ASEAN member countries have voiced their support for digital technology convergence for developing a globally-accepted vaccine passport. Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at a press conference following the 15th ASEAN Health Minister’ Meeting ( AHMM ) on May 14 that ASEAN will issue a joint statement on its countries' adoption of health protocol standards. “This is similar to what we will achieve at the G20," he explained, as cited by Indonesia's Antara news agency. Digital technology convergence for developing a vaccine passport was one of the agendas of the AHMM which discussed the mutual recognition arrangement on COVID-19 health certificates, he said. Sadikin noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to countries adopting diverse health protocol standards … [Read more...] about ASEAN aims to develop global vaccine passport
Immigration Department pilots e-portal passport applications
A police officer instructs a citizen on how to make an online declaration for a passport application. — Photo laodong.vn HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese citizens applying for passports without electronic chips will be able to submit their forms online and receive them by post. Under a pilot scheme from May 15, they can access http://dichvucong.gov.vn or http://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn to make an online declaration, pay the fee and receive their passports by post, or collect them at the immigration offices, according to the Việt Nam Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security. The scheme applies to those residing in the country having a valid chip-based identity card or a valid 12-digit citizen ID card, a valid account on the Government Public Service Portal, and the ability to pay online fees. The move aims to reduce the travel time for people and strengthen the transparency of public administration. If successful, the model will be rolled out to provinces and … [Read more...] about Immigration Department pilots e-portal passport applications
More than 14 million people receive COVID-19 vaccine passports
The Ministry of Health announced that it has issued more than 14 million COVID-19 vaccine passports to the general public, a month from its official rollout on April 15. A vaccine passport displayed on the PC COVID-19 app. Photo of the Ministry of Health. The passport is now available on the national COVID-19 app PC COVID-19 (available on both iOS and Android systems) or Digital Health (Sổ sức khỏe điện tử) apps. The vaccine passports have 11 fields of information: name, date of birth, nationality, the targeted disease, doses of vaccines received, date of vaccination, lot number of the vaccine batch, type of vaccine, vaccine product received, the vaccine manufacturer, and a code for the certification. Data has been encoded into a QR code. The code will expire after 12 months. Following their expiry, people will be notified, and a new QR code will be created. According to Nguyễn Bá Hùng, deputy director of the ministry’s Medical Data Centre many … [Read more...] about More than 14 million people receive COVID-19 vaccine passports
Relax ‘unfriendly’ visa policies, foreign tourists urge Vietnam
Justin Douglas from the U.S. said Vietnam should return to the old three-month visa policy to give tourists time to explore and discover the country at their pace. Starting March 15, Vietnam has allowed quarantine-free travel and resumed its pre-pandemic visa exemption policy for citizens from 24 countries, including Japan, South Korea and European economies. However, the country only issues a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from other countries, and has not resumed issuing three-month visas as was the norm earlier. "A 30-day stay is too restrictive," Justin said. "One thing I never got a chance to do before the pandemic is make a bicycle trip around Sa Pa and Ha Giang (in the northern highlands). It would be very difficult to do a trip like that in 30 days, which requires ample time to prepare in Hanoi beforehand and relax there afterward." Justin said Vietnam is his favorite country and he has been waiting to go back, but with a 30-day maximum limit, he decided he … [Read more...] about Relax ‘unfriendly’ visa policies, foreign tourists urge Vietnam
Saudi Arabia bans citizens from traveling to Vietnam, 15 other countries
The 15 other countries where Saudi citizens are barred from traveling are India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Armenia, Belarus, and Venezuela, reported Gulf News . The Saudi government's Directorate General of Passports issued the travel ban on Saturday after it observed a consistent increase in the number of daily Covid-19 cases in the previous weeks. On Saturday, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced 414 new infections of Covid, with the weekly figures seeing a five-fold increase compared to those seen through March and April. More than 9,100 people have died due to Covid in Saudi Arabia. Vietnam has been seeing major drops in Covid infections and hospitalizations. The country recorded 1,319 new local Covid-19 cases on Sunday, down 45 percent from a week earlier. Saudi Arabia lifted most Covid restrictions for arrivals from Vietnam in December last year. … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia bans citizens from traveling to Vietnam, 15 other countries
President Ho Chi Minh’s birth anniversary celebrated in UK, France
The Vietnamese Embassy in France holds a flower offering ceremony to celebrate the 132nd birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19) at Montreau Park (Photo: VNA) London (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in the UK has held flower offering ceremonies to celebrate the 132nd birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19) at his statue in Newhaven town in the Sussex region and New Zealand House in London. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long showed the profound gratitude towards the late leader, who had devoted his whole life to the country's liberation and reunification. He also recalled President Ho Chi Minh's 30-year journey to seek ways for national salvations, including the time he lived and worked in the UK (1913-1917). During his stay in the UK, for the first time, the President read the works of two philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which helped him shape political thought and find ways to liberate the nation, the diplomat … [Read more...] about President Ho Chi Minh’s birth anniversary celebrated in UK, France
Vietnam attends education forum in UK
UK Ambassador for International Education Steve Smith (left), Vietnamese Ambassador to UK Nguyen Hoang Long (centre) and Under Secretary of State (Minister for Skills) Alex Burghart of UK at the Education World Forum 2022. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Education is one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s priorities and the Education World Forum (EWF) is a great opportunity for the ASEAN countries to learn about cooperation between the UK and other countries in the region, not only in the field of education but also economy, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long has said. British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA) In his opening remarks, British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi emphasised that it is high time for the countries to work together to tackle the challenges posed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic difficulties around the world. He said he believes that cooperation between … [Read more...] about Vietnam attends education forum in UK
Vietnam discovers two new strains of SARS-CoV-2 from imported cases
Spraying sterilised substances at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases No 2 to prevent SARS-CoV-2 virus from spreading (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases has discovered two new variants of SARS-CoV-2 , namely B.1.222 and B.1.619, after gene sequencing of patient samples. Van Dinh Trang, Head of the Microbiology and Molecular Biology Ward under the hospital, told the Suc khoe & Doi song (Health and Life) newspaper that the B.1.222 variant had appeared in 11 countries, but was most common in the UK and particularly Scotland. This strain has many mutations on the spike protein different from the Indian strain B.1.617.2. Variant B.1.222 was discovered when the hospital’s COVID-19 research team sequenced the SARS-CoV-2 gene from the oropharyngeal specimen of a 29-year-old patient, a Ukrainian expert. The patient was quarantined immediately after entering Vietnam. Variant B.1.619 has spike protein similar to Indian strain … [Read more...] about Vietnam discovers two new strains of SARS-CoV-2 from imported cases
Climate change response among AFD’s cooperation priorities in Vietnam
AFD Executive Director Philippe Orliange (left) has recently paid a working visit to Vietnam. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Responding to climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change impacts are among priorities of the French Development Agency (AFD)’s cooperation priorities in Vietnam, AFD Executive Director Philippe Orliange has affirmed. Such cooperation priorities completely match commitments made by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties ( COP26 ) in Glasgow, Scotland (the UK), last November, Orliange said in an interview with the press. The AFD Executive Director, who has recently paid a working visit to Vietnam, also lauded the Vietnamese government’s strong commitments at COP26. Under the cooperation strategy, the AFD has promoted in-depth discussions with Vietnam’s government agencies on policies regarding climate change impacts, during which … [Read more...] about Climate change response among AFD’s cooperation priorities in Vietnam