Health Ministry, localities must be held accountable for vaccine rollout: PM

At the meeting (Photo: NDO).

If there is a shortage of vaccines, the Ministry of Health must bear the responsibility, while leaders of localities must be held accountable for achieving vaccination targets, said PM Chinh, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, at an online meeting with representatives from 63 cities and provinces.

He reiterated the target of completing the inoculation of the second dose for people who are 18 years and older by December 31, 2021, and for those aged from 12 to 18 years by the end of January 2022.

Regarding the inoculation for children above five years ole, PM Chinh said it needs more consultancy from competent agencies.

At the same time, measures to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control the pandemic and recover and boost the national economy should be maintained, along with implementing other pandemic prevention and control regulations.

However, such measures and regulations should be implemented flexibly, matching the latest developments of the pandemic, he noted.

PM Chinh demanded due attention paid to pandemic prevention and control in major cities and areas where many industrial parks are located, and tightened the handling of violations.

The leader also requested improving the capacity of medical facilities at the grassroots level so that people can access services early and from afar.

Ministries and agencies need to step up administrative reforms to accelerate the production and supply of COVID-19 treatment drugs and mobilise human resources for the pandemic combat, he said.

The PM assigned the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with other relevant ministries and agencies in piloting the resumption of international commercial flights.

Meanwhile, localities should coordinate with businesses in pandemic response and create optimal conditions for them to maintain operations, he said.

Source: NDO