During a counter-terrorism and public order drill in Buôn Mê Thuột, 'protesters' clash with police. Photo courtesy of Vietnamnet

Seán Nolan

HÀ NỘI — If you were at Buôn Ma Thuột Airport last weekend, you would have had a shock. Hundreds of riot police and protesters clashed, complete with drones, explosions and armed rebels.

Fear not; this was no breakdown of civil harmony but a large-scale counter-tourism security drill carried out by the National Civil Aviation Security Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transport, and the Đắk Lắk provincial authorities.

Under the scenario, the would-be rioters were fired up by a string of misgivings, including land issues, site clearance and compensation, and payments of COVID-19 support.

The final point got me thinking.

When Việt Nam began cautiously reopening before the deadly fourth wave of COVID-19 had completely subsided around a year ago, many met the news with scepticism and worry.

The concerns were well-founded; daily case numbers were still higher than they had been at any point before the fourth wave, and many argued the reopening was premature.

For the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, it seemed economic recovery was being prioritised over public health.

In hindsight, the timing could not have been better.

By March 2022, just before schools reopened across much of the country, Ministry of Health figures show that 200,179,247 doses of vaccines had been administered nationwide across a population of roughly 98 million.

This vast scale was only possible thanks to the millions of doses donated to Việt Nam by countries and foreign organisations.

While the original plan was to domestically produce a vaccine while COVID was firmly under control across the country, that plan changed during the fourth wave of COVID.

Instead, foreign-made vaccines were brought or donated and administered as quickly as possible. On the global stage, Việt Nam was a relatively slow starter in terms of its vaccine drive; the nation is now sixth in the world in doses administered per 100 people.

This high level of vaccination coverage means COVID-19 did not have to be wholly eradicated before society reopened, and any questions about prioritising the nation's health over economic recovery became moot – the nation's health had already been prioritised and protected.

Thanks to this well-timed reopening policy, only possible thanks to the highly-effective vaccine drive, the drill in Buôn Ma Thuột remains just a contingency. VNS