Covid-19 epidemic still has the possibility of a new wave

Diversify disease surveillance activities

After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of global concern, people are concerned about the plan to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic in the coming time.

From this concern, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan - Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine ( Ministry of Health ) shared with the press about his views and methods of preventing Covid-19 in our country.

Investor: Could you tell us how Covid-19 prevention activities in Vietnam will change after the WHO announcement?

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan: I must emphasize again that the WHO's announcement that Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern. However, the WHO Director-General emphasized that the announcement does not mean that Covid-19 is no longer a threat or that Covid-19 is less dangerous.

WHO assesses the risk of Covid-19 as still high globally, although the number of cases and deaths has decreased globally, there is still an increase in each region. The SARS-CoV-2 virus itself is still mutating and changing.

If in early April, WHO announced that there were about 400-500 sub-variants of Omicron, by early May, this number had increased to 900. WHO always reminds countries not to be subjective and vigilant against new variants appearing.

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan - Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health).

In Vietnam, we have made appropriate responses to the epidemic situation in the context of each period. Epidemic prevention activities in our country have been directed throughout the past time, especially since October 2021 , Vietnam has shifted to the state of "Safe, flexible adaptation, effective control of the Covid-19 epidemic", Vietnam has shifted to safe, flexible adaptation to effectively control the Covid-19 epidemic .

Following that, on March 17, 2022, the Government issued Resolution No. 38 promulgating the Covid-19 Prevention and Control Program, with a consistent viewpoint and goal in long-term and sustainable Covid-19 prevention and control as it is today.

The Ministry of Health is continuing to develop a sustainable response plan to the Covid-19 pandemic in the new situation, taking into account the emergence of new dangerous variants and widespread epidemics, etc.; Strengthening integrated surveillance of Covid-19 and other respiratory infections.

In addition, we diversify disease surveillance activities to be able to properly assess the epidemic situation in order to deploy appropriate response measures.

Strengthening key, regular, integrated, event-based and random monitoring.

Random border monitoring is not mandatory but still benefits the community so people need to cooperate.

Investor: When can Vietnam announce the end of the Covid-19 epidemic, sir?

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan: Currently, we no longer have travel restrictions, while the nature of SARS-CoV-2 can still move on healthy people, overcoming administrative barriers, so Covid-19 epidemic prevention is global, not just for one country or one locality.

Covid-19 immunity will decrease over time and the epidemic can still appear new waves from one area to another. Therefore, the Covid-19 epidemic is difficult to predict, unpredictable and increases in each area.

Regarding epidemic declaration, the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases stipulates that epidemic declaration includes 5 contents: First, the epidemic; second, the time, location, scope, and scale; third, the cause, transmission route, and dangerous nature of the epidemic; fourth, the prevention measures; and fifth, the medical examination and treatment facilities receiving treatment.

People should not be negligent or subjective but still need to take recommended epidemic prevention measures (Photo: Pham Tung).

Thus, with these 5 contents, it is still necessary to continue to publish epidemic data so that relevant agencies and people can grasp it. Each data provided is meaningful to help people and relevant agencies know the time, location, scale of the epidemic and the prevention measures to be implemented in a consistent manner, helping to quickly control the epidemic.

Until now, even in the WHO meeting on May 5, the question of when the pandemic will end is still unclear. Therefore, for Vietnam, we will work with experts to update and advise the Ministry of Health and the Government to come up with flexible measures, suitable to the level and development of the epidemic situation, ensuring the health and lives of the people above all.

Current epidemic prevention and control activities will be based on the epidemiological situation, prevention measures, resources, etc., especially in the context of an unstable epidemic, with new strains and cases every day. These measures are to ensure that when a situation arises, they must be applied to control the epidemic quickly.

Current epidemic prevention recommendations

Investor: Do you think Covid-19 should be moved from group A infectious disease to group B infectious disease?

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan: Disease prevention must be based on scientific principles as well as on both international and Vietnamese laws.

For epidemic prevention activities in general, and Covid-19 in particular, there are 4 components. First, based on the epidemiological situation; second, prevention measures; third, the time to apply measures; and fourth, resources, prevention measures, and policies to ensure the implementation of response measures in a synchronous manner.

Thus, it is necessary to balance these four factors, so that when a situation related to an epidemic is applied at the right time to quickly control and contain the epidemic.

People need to proactively get vaccinated against Covid-19 (Photo: Huu Thang).

As for Covid-19, its unstable and unpredictable nature, even if preventive measures are reduced, immunity will decrease over time, while new variants will appear frequently, and new waves of the epidemic will appear. Thus, the measures we apply must range from social administration to professional and technical measures.

In the classification, group A infectious diseases are more inclined towards social administrative measures and resource assurance. However, I emphasize that regardless of the group of diseases, it is important to coordinate implementation harmoniously and flexibly so that when applying epidemic prevention measures, they can be deployed quickly, appropriately to the epidemic situation, and avoid waste.

Investor: So, what recommendations do you have for people in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic at present?

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan: As I said above, the Covid-19 epidemic is still unpredictable and difficult to predict. Therefore, we continue to recommend that in the coming time, we still need to maintain the implementation of 2K + vaccines + treatment drugs, technology and public awareness in long-term prevention and control of Covid-19.

Investor: Thank you !

Hoang Bich - Phuong Thao

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/dich-covid-19-van-co-kha-nang-xuat-hien-lan-song-moi-a607627.html