The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on October 21 that Vietnam has eliminated trachoma, a contagious, bacterial disease that may eventually lead to blindness.

A clinical care training for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and a number of common diseases was held in Vung Tau city in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau for health workers at emergency department, intensive care units (ICU) and poison control department of local clinics with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

In an attempt to prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in the community, Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) is urging the public to get screened for the disease, especially individuals with underlying medical conditions.

Many new kinds of vaccines will be included in the national expanded programme on immunisation (EPI) in the coming time, said Dr. Dang Thanh Huyen, deputy head of the EPI Office under the Ministry of Health, on July 10.

Although Vietnam has stopped COVID-19 testing at border gates and shown strong performance in controlling the pandemic, experts held that the country should still stay vigilant against COVID-19 as the pandemic situation has been tense in many countries with the appearance of many new sub-variants.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) will continue to share information with Vietnam on developments of monkeypox and support the country in the prevention and control of the disease, Dr. Socorro Escalante, Acting WHO Representative in Vietnam told the media on July 26.

The Ministry of Health has proposed considering COVID-19 a Group A infectious disease, not an endemic disease in its latest draft on COVID-19 prevention and control measures in the new situation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has highly valued Vietnam’s innovation spirit and willingness to share COVID-19 prevention and control technologies.

The Ministry of Health of Laos has given approval to the State Enterprise Pharmaceutical Factory No. 3 to produce molnupiravir pills to serve treatment of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health on November 10 granted conditional approval of Covaxin COVID-19 vaccine produced by India's Bharat Biotech International Limited.

Vietnam needs to integrate drowning prevention and climate change management programmes, Dang Hoa Nam, director of the Child Affairs Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has said.

ASEAN member countries are working towards accessing COVID-19 vaccine sources for large-scale immunisation campaigns in a bid to reach herd immunity in 2022, heard a workshop held online in Hanoi on May 25.

The Preventive Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health (MoH) is cooperating with other ministry agencies to license COVID-19 vaccines and build plans for distribution, together with monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the vaccine, a health expert has said.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in Vietnam Kidong Park has said the occurrence of new COVID-19 cases in Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang is not alarming, as the virulence of this strain is no different from that in other countries.

The European Union has mobilised a “Team Europe” package of over 800 million EUR (920 million USD) to support ASEAN nation in the fight against COVID-19.

The Lao Ministry of Health on July 8 reported 54 new cases of dengue fever and one death from the disease.

Vietnam has gone through 46 consecutive days without new COIVD-19 infections in the community as of June 1 morning, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnam is currently the country with the second lowest ratio of COVID-19 infection cases among the total population in the Western Pacific region, with three cases per one million people, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a letter to the overseas Vietnamese community, calling on them to remain unanimous and stand side by side with the homeland in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is also the Chair of the 41st General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), on March 30 sent a letter to heads of the organisation's members, calling for their engagement in the fight against COVID-19.