HCMC – Vietnam reported 1,323 fresh Covid cases today, May 24, up by 143 cases against yesterday, said the Ministry of Health.
Hanoi remained the biggest hot spot with 321 cases, followed by Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho with over 90 cases each. Other provinces saw fewer than 60 cases each, with HCMC recording 22 cases.
Nearly 6,500 Covid patients were declared free of the disease while no new Covid deaths were reported.
Vu Tuan Cuong, head of the Health Ministry’s Drug Administration of Vietnam, has just issued a decision licensing Molnupiravir Stella 200 mg, a domestically made anti-viral drug for Covid treatment, for circulation in Vietnam. The license will be valid in three years upon the date of issuance.
The Drug Administration of Vietnam asked manufacturers to produce the drug in accordance with what they had registered with the Health Ministry. They have to coordinate with medical treatment facilities to comply with the prevailing regulations in terms of prescription drugs, monitor the safety, efficacy and side effects of the drug on local people and report them to the authorities.
The health authorities across the country must ask medical centers, medical workers, medicine suppliers in their areas to inform patients of the benefits and risks of using other medicines and treatment methods that can replace the anti-viral Molnupiravir in Covid treatment.
Also, the relevant units must ramp up efforts to monitor and detect cases that experience side effects of the drug, if any, and report them to the health authorities.
Up to now, four types of domestically-manufactured Molnupiravir have been licensed for circulation in Vietnam, including Molravir 400, Movinavir, Molnuporavir Stella 400, and the latest Molnupiravir Stella 200 mg.
