Looking back over more than 3 years of epidemic prevention and control, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that in December 2019,
the world recorded the first case of COVID-19; on January 23, 2020, Vietnam recorded the first case of COVID-19. In the face of the epidemic, on March 30, 2020, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong called on compatriots, comrades, soldiers nationwide and overseas Vietnamese to join hands in the fight against COVID-19. Immediately after that, on March 31, 2020, the Prime Minister issued Directive No. 16, implementing social isolation for 15 days to prevent and control the epidemic. [caption id="attachment_605024" align="alignnone" width="768"]
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the efforts of the health sector and other ministries in controlling and repelling the COVID-19 epidemic, protecting people's safety, and developing the socio-economy. However, after more than 1 year of fighting the epidemic, in April 2021, the whole country faced the 4th wave of the epidemic, mainly the highly virulent Delta variant, spreading rapidly, penetrating deep into the community in 62/63 provinces and cities, causing very serious consequences, especially in Ho Chi Minh City. On July 29, 2021, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made a second appeal to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to the General Secretary's call, the
Politburo 's strong direction, the National Assembly's support, and in the spirit of "Solidarity, solidarity, great solidarity; success, success, great success", the entire political system, all levels, sectors, localities, people, businesses, overseas Vietnamese and international friends joined hands to prevent and fight the pandemic. In particular, in July 2021, Vietnam introduced a formula for preventing and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic; accelerated the implementation of the vaccine strategy, and organized free vaccination of COVID-19 for the entire population. “This is a key issue, decisive to the victory in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam is behind; opening the economy, welcoming tourists, organizing the 31st SEA Games... By October 20, 2023, COVID-19 has been officially reclassified from group A infectious disease to group B in Vietnam,” the Prime Minister affirmed. The results achieved in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly contributed to and facilitated socio-economic recovery and growth in most areas. The macro economy is stable, inflation is controlled, major balances are ensured, growth is at a high level; GDP growth in 2022 is 8.02% (the highest in 12 years), the third quarter of 2023 is 5.33% and the total for the first 9 months of 2023 is 4.24%. Agricultural and industrial production continue to recover and develop; Energy security and food security are ensured; the labor market has recovered positively. In addition, social security has been paid attention to; people's material and spiritual lives have improved. Social order and safety have been ensured; national defense and security have been maintained; foreign affairs and international integration have been promoted, achieving many important and historic achievements, creating new opportunities and chances to develop the country, enhancing the country's role, position and prestige in the international arena. Vietnam is forecast to recover quickly in the coming time; the national brand value has reached 431 billion USD, up 1 place to 32/100 strong national brands in the world. According to the Prime Minister, in the fight against the epidemic, we have promoted very well the relationship of "Party leadership, State management, people as masters". In particular, from a country that approached vaccines later, with a very low vaccination rate, Vietnam has become one of the five countries with the highest vaccine coverage rate and is the only country in this group with a large population of about 100 million people. Along with that, the macro economy is stable, inflation is controlled, major balances are ensured, growth is promoted. Social security is ensured; people's material and spiritual lives are improved. Foreign affairs and integration are strengthened and expanded. Anti-corruption and negativity are promoted. As of December 31, 2022, about VND 451,000 billion in taxes, fees, charges and land rents for businesses and business households have been exempted, reduced, and extended; lending interest rates for customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have been reduced by about VND 50,000 billion; exempting and reducing payment service fees via banks by about 13,000 billion VND and supporting over 47,200 billion VND from the Social Insurance Fund and Unemployment Insurance Fund for employees and employers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Localities have also proactively implemented social security programs and provided support with tens of thousands of billions of VND. In total, social security work has been implemented with about 120,000 billion VND, supporting about 68 million people and 1.48 million employers, 150,000 tons of rice were issued... "Success in the fight against the pandemic once again affirms the Vietnamese spirit, the Vietnamese mettle of not retreating in the face of any difficulties and challenges, the more pressure, the more effort", affirmed the Prime Minister. On behalf of the Party and State leaders, the Prime Minister respectfully and highly appreciated the Party committees, authorities, sectors, localities, and Steering Committees at all levels for upholding their sense of responsibility before the Party and the people, especially thanking cadres, medical staff, soldiers, police and frontline forces in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic; at the same time, expressing gratitude for the sacrifices and meaningful and noble contributions of the forces and people participating in the fight against the pandemic, philanthropists, sharing the difficulties, hardships and losses of the people and businesses, and offering condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones. On this occasion, the Government, the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee once again thank the companionship and support of countries and international organizations for Vietnam in the arduous fight against the pandemic. 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Ensuring the COVID-19 vaccination rate reaches 100% of the population is an important key to controlling and quickly repelling the epidemic.[/caption] The Prime Minister requested the strict and effective implementation of Directive No. 25-CT/TW dated October 25, 2023 of the Secretariat on continuing to consolidate, improve and enhance the quality of grassroots
health care activities in the new situation and Resolution No. 99/2023/QH15 of the National Assembly on thematic supervision of the mobilization, management and use of resources for COVID-19 prevention and control, the implementation of policies and laws on grassroots health care and preventive medicine; and doing a good job of summarizing experiences. The Prime Minister said that despite shortcomings, overall, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and Steering Committees at all levels have fulfilled the tasks assigned by the Party, State and people and concluded their tasks here. Ms. Angela Pratt, Chief Representative of the World Health Organization in Vietnam, highly appreciated the results of our country's COVID-19 prevention and control; Vietnam's response to the pandemic has become a model for many countries in disease prevention and control. The WHO representative pointed out 6 lessons and factors that Vietnam has effectively implemented to successfully prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, which has now been classified from group A infectious disease to group B. In particular, Vietnam has good capacity in detecting, tracing, zoning, and suppressing the epidemic; implementing border closures and blockades of appropriate epidemic areas; having a dedicated medical system and team; wisely implementing a rapid vaccine strategy; having the active participation of the whole community; especially having the determination and dedication of the Government leaders in disease prevention and control.
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