The Vietnam “vaccine passport” information

The Hanoitimes - Experts say that Vietnam should open the door to foreign tourists to vaccinate earlier or at the same time as Thailand (July 1).

With the new term "Vaccine Passport", tourists who have been vaccinated with COVID -19 can freely travel around the world.

Is Vietnam ready to open to international tourists in July?

According to Mr. Pham Ha - Chairman of Lux Group, his business and domestic travel companies are currently waiting for notification from the government about the resumption of international tourism activities. Accordingly, he hopes that Vietnam will open to tourism in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

Mr. Ha suggested that in accordance with the measures to strengthen the pandemic prevention, local tour operators should consider transferring their tourists directly from the airport to resorts or cruises to minimize risks during road transport.

Besides, Vietnam should consider opening its doors to international tourists to Nha Trang or Da Nang - favorite destinations for EU and Russian tourists because they have the habit of taking long vacations in one place. Therefore, the "Immunization Passport" is especially suitable for this group of customers.

At a meeting held by the Vietnam Tourism Association in March, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Nguyen Huu Tho emphasized: "Vietnam needs to open up to international tourists in July".

According to him, domestic tour operators, especially those that penetrate international markets, have faced many difficulties in the past year, when 95% of them were forced to suspend their business.

“The revenue from domestic tourism is not enough to save the entire tourism industry. In addition, many tourism products are not suitable for the locality. Thus, building an open roadmap for international tourists is the only solution ”, said Mr. Tho.

Considering that the decision to open the international market may face the disagreement of the majority, Mr. Vu The Binh - Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association said that Vietnam should resume domestic tourism as much as possible. as soon as possible, otherwise it will be "left behind".

"The winners are always the smartest, if we don't use the" Vaccine Passport "while the whole world does, we will play a losing game," he emphasized.

As Mr. Binh said, the association will soon submit to the Government a plan to resume domestic tourism in the near future.

Controversy

However, the "Vaccine Passport" creates conflict between health professionals and travel policy makers.

In short, the question "When should Vietnam open its international tourism market and how to keep the country safe in a new normal period?" still not answered.

Ready technical infrastructure for 'vaccine passport' from April

The major mobile carriers and ministries said that the technical infrastructure system related to the "vaccine passport" for foreigners will be completed and ready to be deployed from April.

At the meeting on the morning of March 19, the Standing Committee of the National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Fight against Covid-19 (Steering Committee) noted that the technical system must take into account the most complicated cases, ready to be deployed right after. has specific policies on "vaccine passport".

The Ministry of Health continues to work with relevant specialized agencies abroad, so that Vietnam can soon participate in the international community's joint efforts to facilitate trade facilitation for those already Vaccination against Covid-19 in countries.

At the meeting, the representative of the Tourism Advisory Council expressed his agreement with the guideline and motto of the Steering Committee and the Ministry of Health on the issue of "vaccine passport". Accordingly, Vietnam will implement this policy in the coming time, when conditions permit, with the spirit of "implementing dual goals but ensuring safety first".

For people in the country, immunization information will be integrated into the electronic health record system, linked with the citizen database. "This not only creates the most favorable conditions for people in vaccination, but also helps control travel and movement in the future epidemic situation in a consistent and convenient way", the Steering Committee stated. point.

According to Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long, when going to vaccination, people must download electronic records application, re-declare necessary information. Medical facilities scan QR-codes instead of performing paper operations; information for people about vaccines, vaccination terms ... After that, people are screened, vaccinated, monitored after vaccination.

After vaccination against Covid-19, people were issued a certificate and a QR-Code confirmed. Medical staff can update the results of this vaccination. The regulator captures data and information for the implementation of the vaccination program, and is provided with tools to monitor related issues.

According to data from the National Immunization Program, as of the afternoon of March 18, Vietnam had vaccinated AstraZeneca for 27,546 people.

All vaccination sites comply with the Health Ministry's regulations on safety; The post-injection response rate is at the permitted level according to the vaccine manufacturer's recommendation. Some cases of degree 2 anaphylaxis (according to 4 levels of mild, severe, critical, circulatory stop), were detected and handled promptly and their health was recovered.