PM supports ‘vaccine passport’ idea, regulations in the pipeline

The Ministry of Health should work closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnam National Tourism Administration to complete the mechanism for submission to the Government, Phuc said at a monthly regular Cabinet meeting in Hanoi on March 31.

The PM asked for a greater effort to step up vaccinations as well as research and production of vaccines in the country.

The vaccine passport idea was also discussed by Mai Tien Dzung, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office at a press briefing of the same day, who said that the vaccine passport mechanism is “the desire of Vietnamese people and many foreigners wishing to enter Vietnam,” and that “it will effectively serve the reopening of international commercial flights".

Dzung noted the local tourism market is showing signs of gradual recovery in the new normal state following the containment of the coronavirus outbreak in the community.

“Only several imported coronavirus cases have been detected and they are all placed in quarantine upon their arrival,” said the Minister.

According to the minister, Vietnam has ramped up the import of coronavirus vaccines in recent times. It has imported more than 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and inoculated nearly 50,000 people nationwide. An additional 1.37 million doses are set to arrive in April, he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong said his ministry is working on a suitable quarantine scheme for those who receive sufficient shots of the vaccine and wish to enter the country. At the same time, he said the ministry is preparing plans and scenarios for the use of vaccine passports in the future.

However, Cuong admitted that Vietnam should think over the vaccine passport option, explaining that “besides economic benefits, it poses virus infection risk to the community.”