Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc chairs the monthly Government's meeting on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has requested that the more than 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine that arrived in Việt Nam last week must be injected to priority groups this week including the poor, disadvantaged families and people at high-risk of virus exposure.

At the monthly Government meeting on Tuesday, Phúc asked the Ministry of Health to immediately launch the vaccine rollout.

“We must make efforts to inject vaccines to as many Vietnamese people as we can. We will ensure enough budget so that every person can get access to vaccine. This is an urgent need,” he told the meeting.

Talking about anti-COVID-19 efforts, especially in Hải Dương, Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh, and parts of Hà Nội and HCM City, he noted that thanks to drastic directions by the Government and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the situation is basically under control.

Except for Hải Dương Provinces’s Kim Thành District which has recorded several new cases in recent days, former hotspots, particularly big cities, have controlled the outbreak well, PM Phúc said, describing this as another success of the fight against COVID-19 in Việt Nam.

He also underlined the Government’s resolution issued following the Politburo’s approval of the vaccine import intention, thanks to which, the vaccine has been imported into the country.

He highlighted that vaccinations and measures like face masks, disinfection, keeping distance from others, no large gatherings and health declarations would continue to be the key to repel the virus.

He asked agencies to continue to zone off the cluster in Kim Thành District and at the same time boost production and business to realise the socio-economic targets of the first six months and the whole year.

He noted that February recorded positive socio-economic outcomes with agricultural products sold at high prices.

Despite the resurgence of COVID-19, the number of newly-registered enterprises increased by 4 per cent with registered capital up by 52 per cent.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in February, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.5 per cent compared to the previous month. This is the highest level of the February price index in the last eight years and an increase of 1.56 per cent compared to December 2020.

Goods import and export activities in the first two months of the year achieved a high growth rate. Total export and import turnover in the first two months was estimated at US$95.8 billion, up 24.5 per cent over the same period last year.

Exports reached $48.6 billion, increasing 23.2 per cent while imports gained $47.3 billion, up 25.9 per cent over the same period last year. The trade surplus in the first two months was estimated at $1.3 billion.

At the Government’s meeting this month, Cabinet members proposed solutions to realise the targets of protecting public health and creating favourable conditions for socio-economic development.

The Government assessed the implementation of the socio-economic development plan in 2020, adjustment to public investment capital and State budget disbursement for 2021-25. — VNS