Widespread vaccination reduces deaths despite rising Covid infections: health ministry

At a meeting with the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Health said the coronavirus has been "basically put under control nationwide." All localities have switched to adaptation strategies to live with the disease, it added.

Over the past month, the daily number of new Covid-19 cases has quickly risen in most localities, with between 50,000 and 70,000 new cases recorded daily on average, with peak days at around 125,000. Unvaccinated people were getting infected more quickly than the vaccinated, especially among children aged under 12.

One of the factors for the surge was the presence of the highly infectious Omicron variant, which is gradually gaining ground over Delta in many localities, especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

But thanks to widespread vaccination, death rates have significantly reduced compared to previous months. While the number of community transmission cases has increased by around 198 percent from last month, the number of deaths has reduced by 47 percent and the number of severe cases, by 43 percent, according to the health ministry.

Vietnam has given a total of 196 million Covid-19 vaccine shots to its population. Virtually all adults, people from 18, have received their first Covid-19 vaccine shots, while 98 percent have received their second. A total 99 percent of children aged 12-17 have received their first vaccine shots, and 94 percent their second.

The health ministry however warned that as society begins to reopen, especially with the resumption of international tourism, more infections would arise and may place a burden on the healthcare system.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam would move towards "normalizing" the Covid-19 pandemic and consider it an endemic disease.