Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chairs the meeting on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Saturday requested the gradual normalisation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was speaking at a teleconference between the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with ministries, sectors, and 63 provinces and cities.

PM Chính ordered readiness without neglect and subjectivity as the pandemic may continue developing in a complicated and unpredictable manner, especially with the Omicron variant.

He stressed the importance of continuing to prevent the spread of the virus, focus on curbing the risks, limiting the number of severe cases and fatalities, promoting rapid recovery and sustainable development, ensuring social welfare and maintaining national defence and security.

It is necessary to speed up the implementation of the vaccination drive, with the goals of completing the injection of the booster shot for people aged from 18 in the first quarter of 2022, completing the second injection for those aged 12-17 in March, preparing a vaccination campaign for children from five to 11 years old, and studying the administration of the fourth shot for adults and injection for children under five years old.

The Ministry of Health was required to urgently license drugs for pandemic prevention and treatment, and intensify guidance on treatment measures at home, at medical facilities, while the Ministry of Information and Communications was asked to continue perfecting technologies serving pandemic prevention and control based on the population database.

The Government leader also ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with other agencies to prepare for the official reopening of tourism activities on March 15.

As the spirit of pandemic prevention and control is without precedent, so agencies do not need perfectionism, cannot be hurried, but need to closely follow the situation to continue to learn from experience and make appropriate adjustments, he stressed.

According to a report by the health ministry, Việt Nam has to date recorded more than 4.2 million infections, of whom 2.6 million have fully recovered and 40,726 deaths.

As of March 3, Việt Nam had received 218 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines of all kinds, of which over 196 million doses have been administered. — VNS