Vietnam begins COVID-19 vaccination on March 8 Vietnam launches its COVID-19 inoculation drive on March 8 morning, administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to medical workers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and northern Hai Duong province – the country’s biggest pandemic hotspot at present. The vaccination is conducted at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and two medical centres in Hai Duong. As many as 100 staff members of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases are expected to receive the shots in the morning of March 8. The hospital is allocated 450 doses among the first batch of 117,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine the country has received. In Hai Duong, 50 medical workers at Hai Duong city’s medical centre, and 30 others at Kim Thanh district’s medical centre will be the first in the province to be injected. The Ministry of Health has allocated the vaccine to 13 localities, along with the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and 21 hospitals during the first phase. Among the localities, all having reported COVID-19 cases since the latest wave of outbreaks since January 27, the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is given 8,000 doses, Hai Duong CDC 32,000, and HCM City CDC 8,000. Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security each receive 30,000 doses. At a meeting on March 6, Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stressed the need to ensure equality in vaccine access as suggested by the WHO, UNICEF and COVAC. The localities excluded in the first phase should continue to prepare for the inoculation, with training programmes, he said, adding that they would receive the vaccine after the next shipment arrives in Vietnam in March. The ministry will roll out the vaccination in all COVID-19 treatment hospitals, prioritising those involved in frontline work, and those who participate in the pandemic combat in the community like …
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Bustle at Ho Thi Ky flower market, increased online orders on Int’l Women Day
Ho Thi Ky flower street in HCMC’s District 10 became hustle and bustle and the number of online flower orders increased significantly on the day. Roses and flowers for the special day are in high demand. This year, the price of fresh flowers market is higher than the previous year. From the afternoon of March 6, many trucks carrying roses flocked to flower stores on Ho Thi Ky Flower Street, throng of flower lovers were busy at shopping, making the street more crowded than usual. This year, stores have a variety of flowers with different types to satisfy customers’ tastes such as Da Lat roses, hydrangeas, flowers imported abroad such as Ecuadorian roses, Dutch marbles, wax flowers, Persian buttercups, ... Especially, Diem Chi flower store has peony chrysanthemum imported from Malaysia - a new type of flower chosen by many customers. Besides, Ecuardo roses and Dutch marbles are also popular. Manager of Diem Chi Flower Store Truong Thi My Hue said that this year, the store has a new type of flower called peony chrysanthemum, which is the best-seller in the store and is out of stock on March 5. However, she added that the price of Ecuardo rose this year is higher than last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and flowers had been sold out in Tet holiday (the Lunar New Year) before. Presently, the not many flowers in full bloom are left, so the price is slightly higher than usual. The price of peony chrysanthemum imported from Malaysia is currently ranging from VND45,000 to 50,000 a flower while Da Lat peony daisy is VND 30,000 a flower, Ecuardo rose is VND 380,000 a bunch of 10 flowers and a bunch of 50 Da Lat red rose costs VND 200,000. Elsewhere in the city, employees of the Love Flower Store in District 3 were busy with soaring orders; flowers are at a high demand; therefore, flower store florists work hard to promptly deliver fresh bunches of flowers to customers. Da Lat rose, sunflower, lisianthus, different kinds of daisy, carnation have been …
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Initiative’s success helped by quick response to pandemic
As 2020 is coming to end, how do you evaluate the development of businesses that received recognition during the Vietnam Value Programme? Vu Ba Phu, director general of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade After 17 years of running the programme with seven times choosing national brands, we have witnessed the continuous growth of many domestic enterprises. At the first selection in 2008, we saw only 30 chosen companies with their products. By 2018, this number had grown to 97, and this year we have recorded 124 enterprises and their brands. However, the growth of the business community has not only happened in the number of participating businesses, but also export turnover, sales, and their contribution to the state budget, as well as their efforts in social responsibility and job creation. For example, firms recognised as national brands in 2018 reached a revenue of about VND907 trillion ($39.4 billion), with their export turnover amounting to VND130 trillion ($5.6 billion), contributing VND85 trillion ($3.7 billion) to the state budget and creating 340,000 jobs. Meanwhile, in this year, these numbers have climbed to VND975 trillion ($42.4 billion) and VND123 trillion ($5.34 billion) in 2020, respectively, with contributions to the state budget amounting to VND197 trillion ($8.5 billion) and 350,000 new jobs created – all this despite the pandemic. What are the main differences between the 2020 programme and previous years’ iterations? This year has been a special one as most of the businesses were affected by the health crisis, even making it difficult for the organisers of the Vietnam Value Programme to obtain applications, organise conferences, and disseminate information. Facing these circumstances, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) responded quickly and directed our Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) to coordinate with relevant ministries and localities to implement online procedures for the …
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