Who are prioritized and eligible for free Covid-19 vaccination?
The Government has just issued Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP on the purchase and use of Covid-19 vaccines, which stipulates priority subjects for vaccination and free vaccination. The Resolution clearly states: The vaccine purchase mechanism is implemented in special cases as prescribed in Article 26 of the 2013 Bidding Law.
The Resolution clearly states that the Government assigns the Ministry of Health to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies and localities to purchase, import, receive aid, funding, manage and use vaccines to prevent COVID-19.Covid-19in 2021 for people 18 years of age and older: Approximately 150 million doses.
The Minister of Health, based on the requirements for epidemic prevention and control, decides on the specific quantity of vaccines to be purchased and imported in each phase.
The vaccine purchasing mechanism is implemented in special cases as prescribed in Article 26 of the 2013 Law on Bidding.
The Resolution stipulates priority and free vaccination subjects including:
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+ Frontline forces in epidemic prevention and control, including: People working in medical facilities; people participating in epidemic prevention and control (members of the Steering Committee for epidemic prevention and control at all levels, people working in quarantine areas, performing contact tracing, epidemiological investigation, community-based Covid-19 teams, volunteers, reporters, etc.); Army; Police.
+ Vietnamese diplomatic staff and officers sent abroad; customs and immigration officers.
+ Essential service providers: aviation, transportation, tourism; electricity, water service providers…;
+ Teachers, people working at educational and training institutions; people working at agencies and administrative units who regularly come into contact with many people;
+ People with chronic diseases, people over 65 years old.
+ People living in epidemic areas.
+ Poor people, social policy subjects.
+ People sent by competent State agencies to work, study or work abroad.
+ Other subjects decided by the Ministry of Health based on disease prevention and control requirements.
About the location:
Priority is given to vaccination for the above-mentioned subjects in provinces and centrally-run cities where there is an epidemic; within the province or city, priority is given to vaccination for subjects in epidemic areas.
Based on vaccine supply capacity, priority will be given to vaccination for those participating in disease prevention and control work and those in epidemic areas.
Funding sources for implementation
The Resolution clearly states that the State budget ensures according to the State budget decentralization:
- Local budget ensures for local people and subjects managed by the locality.
- The central budget ensures the subjects managed by central agencies and supports local budgets according to the following regulations:
- Mountainous provinces and the Central Highlands: The Central budget supports 70% of the actual State budget expenditure according to regulations;
- The remaining provinces and centrally-run cities:
+ Provinces and cities with a rate of regulating revenue distribution to the central budget of 50% or more: Proactively use local budget reserves for implementation.
+ Provinces and cities with the rate of regulating revenue distribution to the Central budget below 50%: The Central budget supports 30% of the support from the State budget.
+ Localities that have not yet balanced their remaining budgets: The Central budget supports 50% of the support from the State budget.
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Localities use up to 50% of local budget reserves and up to 70% of provincial financial reserve funds to carry out Covid-19 prevention and control work.
In case the locality spends a large amount of money on Covid-19 prevention and control, if the guaranteed local budget exceeds the local resources, including: 50% of the local budget reserve (including all 3 levels of province, district, commune) and 70% of the local financial reserve fund, the central budget will supplement the difference exceeding the local resources so that the provinces and cities have enough resources to implement.
In addition to the State budget, there are also sources of aid, sponsorship, and support from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals and other legal capital sources; sources of voluntary payment from organizations and individuals using vaccines.