Vietnam is working to soon develop its own home-made COVID-19 vaccines, a representative from the Health Ministry told a meeting of the standing board of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on April 14.
A “vaccine passport” must include a QR code or its holder should show a COVID-19 vaccination certificate issued by competent authorities in countries and territories that have reached bilateral and multilateral agreements with Vietnam on this regard when entering Vietnam, the Ministry of Health has said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has sent a report to the Ministry of Transport on the application of vaccine passports for people entering Vietnam.
Although “vaccine passports” are yet to become official, airlines are nonetheless preparing for the resumption of international flights based on their introduction.
Home to the famous beach city of Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province’s tourism sector has set a goal of welcoming 5 million tourists this year, including 1.5 million foreign tourists, and earning over 760 million USD in revenue. With the tourism season now in high gear, the province is ready to reach its targets.
Many countries worldwide have now introduced “vaccine passports” - an electronic document proving a person has been vaccinated against COVID-19. In Vietnam, the measure is expected to give a boost to the tourism sector, which has been devastated by the pandemic.
As COVID-19 cases have been on the decline around the world and vaccination programmes have been rolled out in many countries, agencies and businesses at home and abroad are hopeful that the introduction of “vaccine passports” will allow the resumption of international fights.
Deputy Health Minister Truong Quoc Cuong said at the regular Government press conference on March 31 that the Health Minister is still studying and working on scenarios for the use of “vaccine passport” in the future.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted a plan on the reopening of international flights in three stages to the Ministry of Transport.
Immediately after Thailand’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began at the end of last month, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered officials to look into the future use of vaccine passports, reported the Bangkok Post.
Vietnamese authorities are in talks with partners on how to safely resume commercial flights, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.
Thailand is considering COVID-19 vaccine passports and quarantine exemption in an effort to boost the ailing tourism sector as inoculation rolled out worldwide, China’s Xinhua News Agency has reported.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh held phone talks with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on March 4, during which they discussed measures to bolster trade exchange and speed up post-pandemic economic recovery, as well as the facilitation of travelling between the two sides.
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