Tears and fears as indias huge coronavirus vaccine push falters

Vaccine passports – the future?, illustration photo, source: internet At the end of December, thousands of Europeans received the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine after the company received authorisation in the EU. Since then, other countries such as the US, Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, India, and several Asian countries, including Vietnam, have also started to receive or order vaccines to prepare for mass vaccination programmes. This has awakened optimism about an end to the pandemic and the idea of a vaccine passport. A heated discussion Some parts of the world, such as the Seychelles, Cyprus, and Romania, have begun to remove quarantine requirements for visitors who have been vaccinated. In early January, Denmark also announced that it would issue vaccine passports to citizens within the next three to four months. To get digital vaccine passports, Danish citizens will have to declare their medical and vaccination status on a government-issued app. Owners of such passports will be able to return to Denmark without quarantine and receive access to bars, restaurants, and hotels. Iceland became the first European nation to issue vaccine certificates in late January. While Greece also announced it will unveil a digital vaccination certificate for those who have received two doses of the vaccine, Israel recently announced that a so-called Green Badge will allow vaccinated people to go to restaurants, attend public events, and travel freely. Other countries that are currently issuing or waiting for vaccine passports include the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden. Despite being supported by several countries and seen as a necessary condition for freedom of movement, vaccine passports have received mixed reactions in many places. The UK, the first in the world to vaccinate people against COVID-19, had previously denied plans for vaccine passports to allow people to travel abroad, but …

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Vietnamese tourism authorities are devising a phased road map to welcome foreign tourists of certain nationalities back to the country. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, deputy director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the country would “not reopen completely” during a conference in coastal Quang Ninh Province on Friday. Speaking of Vietnam's stance on reopening its borders to foreign tourists, Huong stated that selected foreign markets, more specifically those with high demand and preference for all-inclusive tour packages to the Southeast Asian country, would be welcomed back to certain resorts that can ensure apt isolation and air connection. Echoing Huong’s ideas, Nguyen Manh Tien, deputy chairman of the National Assembly Committee for External Relations, urged relevant ministries and agencies to devise regulations and standards to reintroduce foreign tourists back in certain provinces, considering many secluded tourism complexes have been prepared in the country. Manh pointed to Vietnam’s fellow ASEAN country Thailand, which is considering border reopening for foreign entrants who can provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Since March 2020, Vietnam has locked foreign tourists out of the country as part of its bid against COVID-19 infections. This decision, while proving effective against the epidemic spread in the country, took a huge toll on the nation's tourism sector, which consists of roughly 2,300 tourism companies and 3,000 lodging facilities. Vietnam has recorded 2,512 coronavirus cases as of Monday morning, including 1,585 local infections and 35 virus-related fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health’s data. It already started vaccinating frontline workers, diplomats, military and police officers, and teachers on Monday. The country currently has 117,600 AstraZeneca vaccine doses it received on February 24. Vietnam aims to obtain 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of the year, including 30 million …

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Việt Nam needs to ensure consistency in legal documents on science and technology development to tap its potentials. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuấn With great potential amid the ever-growing importance of science and technology, Việt Nam has promoted investment in this field by offering tax incentives and resources. Former Minister of Science and Technology Nguyễn Quân talks to Khoa học và Phát triển (Science and Development) online newspaper about the limitations in legal documents that regulate science-technology investment in Việt Nam and recommendations for the country to unlock its potential in this field. Early this year, the Finance Ministry issued Circular 03/2021/TT-BTC on Corporate Income Tax (CIT) exemption and reduction policies for science-technology enterprises. What is new in this circular? Similar tax incentives on science-technology companies were stipulated in two decrees in 2007 and 2010 respectively and another circular. This new document is expected to make tax procedures easier for science-technology businesses. However, there are some limitations in Circular 03. For example, previous legal documents regulated that science-technology businesses are entitled to the same tax incentives applied for high technology (hi-tech) companies or those investing in hi-tech parks. This means that they enjoy tax rate of 10 per cent for 15 years or during the life span of the project. However, Circular 03 doesn’t specify CIT rates to which science-technology companies are entitled, so there is a chance that they may be entitled to CIT exemption and reduction for a total of just 13 years. This will make investing in science and technology less attractive and put science-technology companies at a disadvantage compared to hi-tech companies, companies investing in hi-tech zones or companies that have hi-tech projects. What is more, Circular 03 is about preferential tax policies while previous documents regulated other issues like human resources, …

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