Preparations are underway to declare the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hà Nội Mới•29/05/2023

(HNMO) - On the afternoon of May 29, in response to questions raised by National Assembly deputies during the plenary session regarding the mobilization, management, and use of resources for COVID-19 prevention and control; and the implementation of policies and laws on primary healthcare and preventive medicine, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan stated that the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control is expected to discuss matters related to the preparation for declaring the end of the COVID-19 epidemic this weekend.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan.

Responding to National Assembly deputies' comments on the reclassification of Covid-19 from Group A to Group B, Minister Dao Hong Lan stated that, following the Prime Minister's directive, the Ministry of Health is coordinating with other ministries and agencies to review legal regulations, consult experiences from other countries , and review practical measures implemented in Vietnam's Covid-19 prevention and control efforts. The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with other ministries and agencies, has been developing the necessary documentation to reclassify the disease from a Group A infectious disease to a Group B infectious disease.

"To prepare for the announcement of the end of the Covid-19 epidemic, expected this weekend, the Prime Minister will chair the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 prevention and control to discuss related issues," Minister Dao Hong Lan said.

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra.

Recognizing that the pandemic has exposed difficulties and shortcomings in the organizational structure and operational aspects of the preventive and primary healthcare network, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs will coordinate with the Ministry of Health to conduct a comprehensive review and advise the Government on a plan for developing healthcare human resources in the public sector until 2030 in a fundamental, specific, and strategic manner, ensuring adequate healthcare personnel in the public sector in the new context.

In particular, Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra stated that a comprehensive assessment of the organizational structure and human resources of preventive medicine and primary healthcare is needed to propose to the Government the development of new or supplementary legal documents, ensuring stability in the organizational structure, clearly defining the specific functions and tasks of these organizations, and carefully considering the organizational model to ensure political, social, legal, and practical requirements are met, in order to best fulfill the task of ensuring the health of the people.

"Currently, the Ministry of Interior is advising the Government and the Prime Minister on the roadmap for salary reform. This includes careful calculations regarding salaries, preferential allowances, salary allowances, and special allowances for medical staff in general, as well as primary healthcare and preventive medicine staff in particular, to ensure compliance with the Party's viewpoint that the medical sector is a special sector, therefore its use and treatment should also be special," said Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tra.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc.

Clarifying the issue of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front requesting lower-level Fronts to submit supported funds to the higher-level Front for deposit into the budget or the Vaccine Fund, Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc stated that the request only concerns the money contributed by businesses and individuals to purchase vaccines. The central budget has already purchased the vaccines in advance and disbursed funds from the Vaccine Fund.

"Therefore, the vaccine funding must be returned to the budget. Other resources for epidemic control will be left at the local level and used for epidemic control and modernization of the health sector," Minister Ho Duc Phoc said.

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