Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long warned of the risk of a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in the country at a meeting on March 26.

Speaking at an online training course on vaccinationsafety held by the Ministry of Health, Long applauded efforts by the Governmentand people in containing the third wave of the pandemic that began on January27.  

However, there is now a high risk of a new spike incoronavirus infections, given the complex developments of the epidemic in regionalcountries, the minister said.

The long border line has made it hard forthe country to control entries and exits, he further explained, citing cases of people illegally entering Vietnam by sea and later testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, which were confirmedby the ministry on March 26.

The ministry has required all localities that have detected entrants to immediately conduct tracing and quarantine, according to Long.

The official also asked localities nationwide to rollout COVID-19 prevention and control measures in line with instructions of theGovernment, while preparing facilities and resources for tracing, testing,quarantine and treatment for timely responding once there is an outbreak.

In his remarks at the conference, which was connectedwith more than 700 medical establishments and vaccination sites across the country, Long orderedensuring safety during the inoculation.

He further said the unexpected side effects ofAstraZeneca vaccine in Vietnam had already been warned by the producer and theWorld Health Organisation (WHO).

The minister emphasised the significance of ensuring public health safety during the elections of deputies to the 15th NationalAssembly and all-level People’s Councils for 2021-2026, slated for May.

Regarding Vietnam’s access to COVID-19 vaccines, hesaid the ministry has worked hard to negotiate with the world’s registeredvaccine producers like AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and SputnikV to buy vaccines. .

Vietnam initially expected to receive the firsttranche of 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca via the WHO-led VaccinesGlobal Access (COVAX) initiative in April, he said. However, due to someobjective reasons, the supply date would be delayed for nearly one month.

The ministry has also been in talks with countriesover cooperation in the production and development of vaccines in Vietnam, hesaid, adding that since the second quarter of last year, Vietnam has stepped upthe research and production of COVID-19 vaccines. Two out of the four homegrownvaccines have entered the phase of human trials.

At the conference, experts guided health workers in safe vaccination techniques as well as in how to quickly detect injection reactions and handle them.

The public health's preparatory work in service of the upcoming electionswas also touched upon on this occasion./.