HCMC – National Assembly (NA) deputy Tran Hoang Ngan from HCMC, at the first session of the 15th NA on July 26, proposed permitting paid Covid-19 vaccination services so that local residents can gain easy access to vaccines.
Ngan also suggested accelerating the trial and approval of locally-developed Covid-19 vaccines, as part of a key strategy to bring the pandemic under control as soon as possible, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.
The pandemic has been raging due to the highly transmissible Delta variant, pushing up new Covid-19 cases and deaths.
The social distancing and lockdown measures are essential but they are temporary solutions.
Vaccination is the most effective solution to combat Covid, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. If Vietnam continues waiting for imported vaccines, while other countries are considering the third jab, Vietnam will find it harder to access vaccines, Ngan said.
He hailed Vietnamese scientists for researching and developing two Covid-19 vaccines—Nanocovax and Covivac.
The relevant agencies have proactively got involved in the research and trial of the vaccines, he noted, citing Nguyen Anh Thi, president of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, to say that the hi-tech park can produce 7-7.2 million vaccine doses per month.
Therefore, besides councils of domestic scientists and medical experts, foreign experts should be consulted over the vaccines. If they are safe and effective, some procedures in the approval process should be eliminated to produce local vaccines and reach herd immunity soon.
