Vietnam Today

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has announced it has signed contracts with 27 medicine manufacturers in eleven countries, now including Vietnam, to produce the Molnupiravir Covid-19 treatment. The UK, the EU, the US, Japan, and many other countries have recently licensed the use of the medicine.

At a ceremony to announce the first winners of the VinFuture Prize, initiated by VinGroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and his spouse Pham Thu Huong to honor scientists worldwide with outstanding research of high application, held in Hanoi on January 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam identifies science and technology development as a national priority and a strategic breakthrough for socio-economic development. The promotion of science, technology, and innovation also expresses Vietnam’s responsibility to the international community in the current context of deep international integration.

AstraZeneca is accelerating a project on the research, production, and technology transfer of pharmaceutical products in Vietnam worth $90 million and is selecting a partner to transfer its Covid-19 vaccine technology to Vietnam, in order to accompany and support the country in becoming a leading pharmaceutical center of the region.

According to Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang, Vietnam’s vaccine passport has been recognized by ten countries: Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, and the Maldives. Vietnam has also recognized the vaccine passport of 79 countries and territories.

At a conference on health work in 2022 held on January 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that pandemic prevention and control measures must be implemented uniformly all around the country, with flexible adaption and no obstruction of people’s movement. He assigned the Ministry of Health to study the possibility of fourth injections and to quickly research and consider international experience on injections for children from five years of age.

The Prime Minister has issued Decision No. 42 approving the task of formulating a plan on preserving and restoring the Complex of Hue Monuments to 2030 and vision to 2050, which was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1993. The planning aims to restore the relic site and cultural landscape, including surrounding areas, and a new submission will then be made to UNESCO seeking reconfirmation of its status. Central Thua Thien-Hue province has set up a project on population relocation and renovation in the Hue Citadel area, with capital of VND7.2 trillion ($316 million), including ten new residential infrastructure projects on a total resettlement area of over 83 ha.