Vietnam should stay methodical to launch vaccine passports as they are possible to worsen the existing social issues, notably inequality, Mr. Todd Pollack, Country Medical Director of the Harvard Medical School AIDS Initiative in Vietnam (HAIVN) told the local newswire Zing. Dr. Le Thai Ha, director of Research and a Senior Faculty member of Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management, Fulbright University Vietnam, said Vietnam had better be careful about accepting vaccine passports as COVID-19 vaccines have yet to be confirmed absolutely effective, and a couple of countries have suspended the use of several vaccines. She proposed continuing to quarantine vaccinated arrivals to Vietnam, with the quarantine period possibly lower than 14 days as normal, and this should be only applied to specific cases. Regarding COVID-19 containment in Vietnam, Mr. Pollack said that illegal immigration to Vietnam is the biggest risk to possible flare-ups in the country, citing complicated virus development in Cambodia and countries sharing borderline with Vietnam as well. Hence, the two experts strongly proposed the Vietnamese government strictly tighten border controls to prevent any risks of infection. (Zing, zingnews.vn)
