Health authority in HCMC proposes for paid Covid-19 tests According to Director of the Department of Health Professor Nguyen Tan Binh, now the city’s entire medical system including preventative medicine has been activated, ensuring for tracing and creating zones for Covid-19 patients as well as expanding high-risk areas to search for close contacts of infected patients.
While the disease has widely spread in many districts in the city, it is very necessary to strengthen and expand testing to detect people with Covid-19 and promptly control the epidemic. Many people also want to undergo a test for SARS-CoV-2 infection; therefore, the city Department of Health recommended a mechanism for collecting fees upon city dwellers’ request as well as to have money for the state budget.
In addition, to effectively control the epidemic in the long term, it is necessary to ensure the coverage of Covid-19 vaccination for all residents. However, at present, the supply of vaccines to Ho Chi Minh City is still limited. Just more than 7.2 million people over 18 years old in the city have been vaccinated.
Accordingly, city authorities petitioned the government and the Ministry of Health to find out the vaccine supply through negotiation or licensing and a financial mechanism so that that the city can proactively provide Covid-19 vaccine for dwellers.
