Ministry of Health: Covid-19 epidemic is difficult to predict

With the opening up policies of countries and the approaching Tet holiday, the Ministry of Health believes that the number of new cases will increase, the Covid-19 epidemic is not stable, and recommends people to be careful.

"With the new policies of countries in the region, in the coming time, the number of Covid-19 cases from abroad entering our country will increase," said Mr. Nguyen Luong Tam - Deputy Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, on January 6.

Mr. Tam added that immunity (from illness or vaccination) gradually decreases over time, while the virus continuously mutates with new strains and sub-variants that have the potential to spread quickly and evade immunity. Therefore, the progression of the epidemic in the coming time is unstable and difficult to predict.

In particular, a representative of the Ministry of Health said that this is the winter-spring transition period, with the potential risk of respiratory disease outbreaks, which could lead to "overlapping epidemics".

Another factor driving the increase in Covid-19 cases is the approaching Tet holiday, increasing demand for trade and tourism, and festivals at the beginning of the year. Children with weak immune systems and the elderly with underlying medical conditions are susceptible to infectious diseases.

Assessing the Omicron XBB strain recently recorded by Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Tam said that the sub-variants have the ability to spread faster, but the current vaccine can still prevent severe illness and death.

"Therefore, people need to proactively take personal preventive measures such as wearing masks in public places, washing hands regularly, and getting vaccinated with the right doses and on schedule," he recommended.

Increased demand for tourism and trade during Tet increases the risk of Covid-19 outbreak. Photo:Giang Huy

To prevent the Covid-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Health said it has made a response plan by closely monitoring the epidemic at border gates, especially for cases entering from areas with outbreaks and from places where new, dangerous strains have appeared.

In addition, Vietnam will step up surveillance in the community and at medical examination and treatment facilities; increase sampling of suspected cases for testing and gene sequencing to early detect cases of the disease, new strains and variants.

Localities continue to promote Covid-19 vaccination, especially for high-risk groups, children from 5 to under 12 years old, especially in large provinces, cities, key tourist areas, and areas with a high number of international visitors. Medical facilities ensure the work of triaging, admitting and treating patients, and are prepared for the situation of a surge in cases.

As of January 6, the country had 11.5 million infections. In November and December 2022, there were an average of 360 new cases per day. In the first days of 2023, only more than 50 cases were recorded per day.

Similarly, the number of severe cases is on a downward trend, from 30 cases per week in the last week of December 2022, to 15 cases in the first week of January.

The number of deaths in the past 2 months is 22, with some weeks recording no cases. The total number of deaths due to Covid to date is 43,186, accounting for 0.4% of the total number of infections.

Our country has injected nearly 266 million vaccine doses, of which the first and second injection rates for people aged 12 and over reached approximately 100%; the third and fourth injection rates for people aged 18 and over reached 80.2% and 86.9%, respectively.