Visiting the municipal Department of Health on January 24 on the occasion of the upcoming lunar New Year (Tet), the government leader hailed the hard work of the city's health sector during the city's fight against the pandemic in the context of the highly contagious Delta variant and a shortage of vaccines and treatment drugs.

He said in such difficult conditions, many "unprecedented" policies to rein in the pandemic and support people have been built, promulgated, and implemented drastically and effectively on an unprecedented scale.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (third from the right) presents gifts to the municipal Health Department's staff.

He noted that Ho Chi Minh City was also the first locality to launch the vaccination drive, contributing to turning Vietnam from a country with a very low vaccination rate into one of the six countries with the highest vaccination coverage rate in the world.

To date, the city has confidently reopened its door, and proactively implemented the policy of safe and flexible adaptation to and effective control of the pandemic.

In 2022, there will be certainly more difficulties and challenges than opportunities and advantages, as the pandemic is still likely to develop complicatedly with new variants, the PM said, requesting that Ho Chi Minh City not to lose vigilance, and to effectively implement the programme on pandemic prevention and control for 2022-2023, and the socio-economic recovery and development plans.

He also urged quicker vaccination for all people, with the focus on children aged to 12-17 so as to reopen schools after Tet, and asked the health sector to speed up digital transformation and improve the quality of health care.

On the same day, PM Chinh visited Thi Nghe Protection Center for Disabled Orphans which is taking care of nearly 250 disabled and orphaned children.

The care for disabled and orphaned children must be in both material and spiritual aspects, he stressed, asking the centre’s staff to take care of children with all their heart.

Source: VNA