WHO committed to assist Vietnam in COVID-19 response

WHO Representative in Vietnam Dr. Kidong Park

Park made the statement at a meeting with Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on August 3 during which the two sides discussed the COVID-19 resurgence caused by Delta variant in many countries, including Vietnam.

He expressed his confidence that Vietnam can weather the COVID-19 storm with the participation of both the political system and people.

The super infectious Delta variant is causing various difficulties for Vietnam’s efforts to keep the virus at bay, but the country is on the right track to fight the virus with many measures put in place, he said.

To cope with the ongoing outbreak, Vietnam has been undertaking virus control measures that are more drastic and stronger than ever, with social distancing order imposed in many cities and provinces. Some southern localities even do not allow their residents to go out during certain time frames.

At the meeting

He highly spoke of the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s swift response by promptly establishing Intensive Care Centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Southern localities to treat critically-ill patients so as to minimize fatalities.

These centers have engaged a number of leading medical experts to treat COVID-19 patients. HCM City now has five centers of this kind, providing a total of 2,700 beds.

The official emphasized that all WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and WHO is willing to help the MoH heighten its capacity in testing, evaluating and authorizing homegrown vaccines under the mandate of the WHO-certified National Regulatory Authority (NRA).

WHO will soon exchange with the Vietnamese side on relevant works, he concluded.

Vietnam has been accelerating its effort to access COVID-19 vaccine supplies with an aim to secure enough doses for 70 percent of its population. But limited supplies remain a huge challenge to the country, which has been hit by the worst-ever coronavirus wave since late April.

Source: VNA