HCMC – The Ministry of Health this evening, March 31, confirmed 80,838 fresh cases of Covid-19, declining 4,932 cases day-on-day.
The capital city of Hanoi reported the highest number of cases, at 8,054, followed far behind by Phu Tho with 3,415 cases. Nghe An, Yen Bai, Daklak each saw around 3,000-3,400 cases. Eight other localities including Lao Cai and Hai Duong had over 2,000 cases each.
The health authority of Hung Yen in the day registered to add 11,517 cases detected earlier to the national Covid monitoring system.
In addition, the country saw a sharp decline in Covid deaths, at 39 today. To date, the country’s death toll linked to the coronavirus has reached 42,493.
Besides, more than 250,400 Covid patients were declared free of the disease the same day, raising the country’s total recoveries to over 7.5 million.
In related news, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, located in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, is seeking volunteers to receive nasal spray Covid-19 vaccines in the third phase of its clinical trial. The enrollment program will last until April 30 this year, according to Trinh Thi Bich Thuy, director of the institute’s Center for Training, Science Management and International Cooperation.
The institute plans to enroll 3,000 volunteers aged 18 and above that are residing in the two provinces of Quang Nam and Khanh Hoa, reported the Vietnam News Agency.
To be eligible for the program, volunteers must have good health or stable mild diseases; receive the last Covid vaccine dose at least three months ago; have not been infected with Covid and be willing to comply with four periodic health checkups during the program. Volunteers will take part in the program for a year.
Volunteers will have their samples collected for medical testing and undergo a healthcare checkup. Then, they will get two vaccine doses delivered via nasal sprays, with the interval between the two shots being 14 days. Their health conditions will be monitored within one year via four health checkups. Each volunteer will receive support of VND900,000 for each health checkup.
For those interested in the enrollment program, they can contact local medical centers in their areas, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, the Quang Nam Province Center for Disease Control.
Aside from Vietnam, four other countries including Colombia, the Philippines, South Africa, and Indonesia are reportedly implementing the third phase of clinical trials for nasal spray Covid vaccines.
