HCMC mulls 'vaccine green pass' for reopening

Phan Van Mai, chairman of the HCMC People's Committee, on Tuesday said offices, services, transport and economic activities could only resume operations after Sept. 15 if safety measures are ensured.

"One of the safety requirements is that people must be vaccinated," Mai said, adding he hoped the government would provide more Covid-19 vaccine doses for the city to fully immunize its residents.

Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the municipal People's Committee, affirmed vaccination is the foremost priority at the moment. If a "vaccine green pass" is to be realized, the city would need to inoculate its population ahead of reopening. Those who have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot would encounter fewer coronavirus restrictions, he added.

Until Sept. 15, Ho Chi Minh City still needs around two million Covid-19 vaccine doses and ramp up vaccination rates, Duc said.

Previously on Sept. 2, deputy director of the municipal Department of Information and Communication Vo Thi Trung Trinh said the department is working with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information and Communication to incorporate data from the national vaccination database to the city's own database. It would help the city utilize vaccination data in the coming time to fight the coronavirus and resume production, she added.

The city could either use the data to devise plans to resume production safely, or quickly confirm the number of Covid-19 vaccine shots a person has received once a digital medical declaration is submitted, she said.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health, on Tuesday said the city aims to vaccinate all its adult population (over 18) with at least once Covid-19 vaccine shot by Sept. 15, adding reopening is only possible with full vaccination.

The southern metropolis, home to 13 million people, has so far administered one shot to over 6.1 million people. Around 600,000 have been fully vaccinated.