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"Vaccine passports" can manage the health of people on entry and exit. Internet photo.

Create favorable conditions for citizens of countries that have vaccines

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said from the perspective of the health sector's approach, the "vaccine passport" is essentially a certificate of having received a Covid-19 vaccine, adjusted under the Law on Infectious Disease Prevention and Control and the International Health Quarantine Regulation.

Currently, Vietnam is working with countries around the world on the acceptance of "vaccine passports" through QR-codes. This method is based on two elements: Health insurance card number or ID card/Citizen card. Upon arrival, residents provide personal information to be checked on the confirmation system. After receiving two doses, the information system will be updated with the QR-code and authenticated for people.

When going abroad, people can scan the QR-code, access the right data source, and verify information of people's injections. The management of the people's health record system, integrating immunization information, linked with the unified citizen database, not only creates favorable conditions for people to be vaccinated but also controls travel amid the pandemic.

For foreigners entering Vietnam, representatives of some ministries, branches and carriers said that the technical infrastructure system will be completed and ready from April 2021. Regarding specific policies, the Ministry of Health continues to work with foreign health agencies to participate in the international community's joint efforts in facilitating trade and convenient travel for people from countries that have received Covid-19 vaccinations.

Regarding the benefits of the "vaccine passport", Mr. Nguyen Quy Phuong, Director of the Department of Travel, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the application of a "vaccine passport" as well as cooperation between countries will create favorable conditions for citizens of countries to travel and help economic recovery.

According to Mr. Phuong, each country has different opening plans based on the characteristics of infrastructure and available conditions. In Vietnam, the open-door roadmap will follow a pilot step-by-step manner. The opening of the door will also choose a type of tourism, in which travel with less exposure will be preferred.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that it will select qualified tourism businesses capable of implementing safe procedures and handling incidents during the opening to welcome international visitors to Vietnam. In addition, this requires local consent, adequate infrastructure and coordination with the Ministry of Health to deploy the travel pass.

Mr. Nguyen Quy Phuong also emphasized that "vaccine passports" is a passport to manage the health of people on entry and exit, with conditions for tourists to prove that they are healthy and do not carry infectious diseases.

According to the representative of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the customers who have "vaccine passports" are allowed to enter and exit Vietnam and will be regulated by the health sector. The activity of the tourism industry at this time is a plan to open up to international tourists when conditions permit.

Beware of fake "vaccine passports"

In addition to the benefits and advantages of using the 'vaccine passport' to travel between countries, there are still issues to be addressed.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, "vaccine passports" will be difficult to implement because Covid-19 vaccination is not compulsory, so it is difficult to have uniformity. Some developed countries have ordered millions of doses of vaccines for citizens while developing countries' citizens still have to wait longer. Notably, the authenticity of the "vaccine passport" still needs to be studied as passports can be falsified, if this happens, the risk of disease transmission in the country will be very high.

In addition, Vietnam is planning to welcome qualified international tourists, but will countries be open to welcoming Vietnamese tourists?

Before the problem, Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that countries must recognize each other's anti-pandemic results to be able to welcome guests. Therefore, to exchange tourists between Vietnam, there must be an agreement between each country.

Mr. Binh added: “Currently, Vietnam is choosing the eligible country, then the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the two countries will discuss and if there is approval from both sides, the “vaccine passport’ will be recognized. Welcoming international tourists is the right of each country.”

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has received a proposal from the Korean ambassador for an isolated tour combining healthcare and golf. But opening up tourism also needs to weigh benefits against the risk of disease control. According to representatives of Saigontourist Travel Business, the construction of the process of welcoming international visitors into Vietnam needs at least two months and selecting locations to pilot international visitors. Accordingly, it is necessary to have a large partition so that visitors can comfortably come to Vietnam to visit and relax.

Many businesses also have plans to welcome international visitors. Mr. Pham Van Bay, Deputy Director of Vietravel Hanoi Branch, said that some markets are expected to recover soon and Vietravel considers them target markets, including China, Israel, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. (China), Japan and the US. These are markets that are controlling the pandemic well; vaccination campaigns are being prioritized and widely applied in these countries. Accordingly, if the "vaccine passport" is approved, Vietravel will also monitor the evaluation of the Ministry of Health on the safety and immunity of each vaccine to both facilitate international visitors to enter. In addition, Vietravel also consulted and built a product set in the form of "bubble tourism" between Vietnam and other feasible countries to expand the target of customers.