Vietnam Opts for Covid-19 Containment Rather than Costly Vaccine

Vietnam’s covid-19 task force has announced it plans to stick to a strategy of containing COVID-19 rather than rush into a vaccine that could be financially risky for the country. Vietnam like Thailand has been able to keep a lid on the pandemic that has been ravishing most of Europe and the United States.

Through months of aggressive mass testing, military-run centralized quarantine and early border closures. Vietnam has kept its coronavirus tally to just 1,210 cases. Vietnam has also gone over two months without a community transmission of Covid-19.

Even more only 35 people have died from COVID-19 in Vietnam, according to official data. Vietnam and Thailand have both been widely praised for their decisive response to quelling outbreaks.

“The vaccine is a story for the future,” task force chief and deputy prime minister, Vu Duc Dam, told CNA.

“Demand is far higher than supply, and we have to pay large deposits to secure our position, which I see as very high risk and a waste of money and time.” “We will continue to deal with COVID as we are now,” he said.

Vietnam registered for Russian made Covid-19 Vaccine

In August, as Vietnam fought a new outbreak of the virus after more than three months without local transmission. Hanoi said it had registered to buy 50 million to 150 million doses of a Russian vaccine.

Vu Duc Dam said Vietnam will also buy from Britain. Where it has a partnership to develop a homegrown vaccine with the University of Bristol.

“We have to be prepared for the fact that the pandemic will not end until 2021,” said Dam. “Our homegrown vaccine will enter human trials this month but won’t be available until end-2021.”

Vietnam has spent nearly US$776.7 million on containing the virus and its impacts, official data shows. Its measures have put its economy on track to recover faster than most.

In September, the government said it was targeting gross domestic product growth of 2.0 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year and 6.7 per cent in 2021.

Meanwhile, Thailand has largely avoided widespread community transmission of Covid-19. However the kingdom is not faring well on the economic front, with a projected contraction of 7.1 percent this year.

As a region, Southeast Asia has fared relatively well in keeping coronavirus cases low, with the notable exceptions of the Philippines and Indonesia.

However, national economies across the region have struggled to stay afloat as countries underwent quarantine and lockdown measures, exports sank and tourism came to a halt.