Weekly Covid-19 update: Hanoi monitors new variants of coronavirus

Hanoi's health sector stressed that it is necessary to monitor the appearance of new Covid-19 variants actively.

The capital city has kept recording a steady number of daily new Covid-19 infections over the past week [November 1-6], with less than 100 Covid-19 cases, according to the municipal Department of Health.

Nevertheless, the Omicron BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.75 variants account for more than 75% of the total cases, and health officials recommend locals be on high alert for the new sub-variants.

The local health sector cited the World Health Organization (WHO) that the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of the Omicron strain are likely to spread more rapidly than previous variants.

New variants BA.2.74, BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BQ.1, and the latest XBB have more potential to evade some immune defenses than Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, leading to the risk of outbreaks again, WHO said.

The organization recommends that the currently-licensed vaccines still have a high protective value and could reduce the risk of severe transmission for all SARS-CoV-2 virus variants.

Vietnam's health ministry will keep coordinating with the Ministry of Education and Training to strengthen the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for children and students. Photo: Tran Minh

“The Covid-19 pandemic in the city remains under control, with no fatalities reported; however, the situation is still unstable, so relevant units need to prepare for unforeseen issues of the pandemic," Hanoi’s health department stressed.

Therefore, to better cope with the pandemic, the city's health sector still prioritizes further speeding up the progress of vaccination against coronavirus to ensure people’s safety in the future.

As of November 6, more than 22 million third doses have been injected into adults in the city, reaching almost 99%. More than 55% of children aged 12 to 17 were administered the third dose.

According to the Ministry of Health, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Vietnam from the beginning of November has increased slightly over the days. Many localities have recorded new variants of Omicron, which can spread faster.

On November 6, Vietnam logged more than 300 new infections, totaling nearly 11.5 million since the pandemic broke out, ranking 13th out of 230 countries and territories in terms of infections.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the first five days of November was over 2,700, an average of about 540 cases per day. This number is much lower than the first five-day period of September and October.

As of this weekend, more than 261 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country. Around 23 million have been injected into children aged 12 to 17, and some 17 million in kids between 5 to 11.

Vietnam has fully opened its borders to international visitors since mid-March. The move allows the country to carry out its recovery plans in the new normal, with bustling production and tourism activities.

However, the Vietnamese government still called on local agencies to strictly implement pandemic prevention and control measures, including regularly assessing risk factors and proactively working out scenarios in response to all possible pandemic situations.

The health ministry will keep coordinating with the Ministry of Education and Training to develop and strengthen the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for children and students.