Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chairs a teleconference of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 with leaders of 63 localities. on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Friday afternoon chaired a teleconference of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 with leaders of 63 localities.

He said the meeting aimed to review the COVID-19 prevention and control performance and set out tasks to control the pandemic and other infectious diseases in the New Year holidays to “not leave anyone behind”.

According to the committee, as of December 19, Việt Nam has recorded more than 11.5 million COVID-19 infections. More than 10.6 patients have recovered, and 43,100 people have died.

In the last 30 days, there have been 12,008 new cases, declining by 23.5 per cent compared to 30 days earlier.

As of December 18, Việt Nam has administered more than 265 million COVID-19 vaccines. Roughly 100 per cent of people from the age of 12 have completed the first two doses.

The proportion of over-18-year-old people receiving the third and the fourth doses has reached 80 and 86.8 per cent, respectively.

About 92.3 per cent of children between 9 and 12 years old have received the first dose. As many as 72 per cent of children between 9 and 12 have been administered the second dose.

State agencies and localities have distributed VNĐ87 trillion to over 55.6 million citizens and nearly 1 million employers affected by COVID-19.

Regarding implementing Prime Minister's Decision No 08/2022/QD-TTg on supporting employees with house rental fees, by November 30, localities have distributed more than VNđ3.7 trillion to over 5.2 million employees and 122,991 employers.

The steering committee predicted the pandemic would get complicated with new variants. In particular, the seasonal changes will cause more respiratory diseases, leading to various outbreaks simultaneously.

The New Year season involves a high intensity of travelling that will also create favourable conditions for illnesses to spread, especially among children and the elderly with underlying conditions.

PM Chính ordered participants to give comments on the COVID-19 treatment and vaccination, especially for children, as well as problems that the steering committee needs to solve. — VNS