Joint efforts and consensus upheld to win pandemic

Since the beginning of 2021, the Politburo and Secretariat have discussed and decided to mobilise the State budget and social resources to buy vaccines for the entire people while setting a policy on enhancing research and cooperation with other countries to produce Vietnam-branded COVID-19 vaccine.

Medical staff of Vietna - Sweden Hospital in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province, show their determination before departing to Bac Giang province to support the locality. (Photo: NDO)
Medical staff of Vietna - Sweden Hospital in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province, show their determination before departing to Bac Giang province to support the locality. (Photo: NDO)

Evoking the power of people’s hearts

Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) launched a peak donation campaign to support the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic in virtual form on May 27, aiming to call on all agencies, organisations and individuals both in the country and abroad to join hands with the Party, State and people to fight against the epidemic. Since then, the Fatherland Front Committees at all levels have been receiving donations from people.

Recently, leaders of the VFFCC have been moved to welcome Pham Thi Kinh (80), head of the charity porridge group at Kim Lien Temple in Phuong Lien Ward, Dong Da District (Hanoi), returned the committee for the second time to directly contributed VND80 million to the COVID-19 Vaccine Fund. Earlier, in 2020, her charity porridge group also donated over VND60 million to the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent days, the VFFCC’s cadres were touched to receive the “saving pig” from primary school students Nguyen Ngoc Minh and Pham Anh Khai in the capital city. Meanwhile, Park Nam Su, General Director of Coway Vina Limited Company, one of many businesses accompanying the VFF’s campaign, shared that he understood the efforts made by Vietnamese Party, State and Government in drastically implementing measures to trace, localise and stamp out the epidemic to ensure the people’s health. “With our responsibility, we hope to send useful products to localities combating the epidemic, thereby contributing more resources to help people soon stabilise their lives and foreign businesses further promote activities in accompanying Vietnam to realise the dual goal of developing economy and preventing epidemic.

Giving aid of VND3 billion to the VFFCC, Gibran Bukhari, Head of Sales Department at Masterise Homes congratulated Vietnam’s successes in COVID-19 prevention and control. He said that as a business operating in Vietnam, Masterise Homes always wished to contribute to Vietnamese Government’s prevention and control of the epidemic.

During receptions of donations, Secretary of Party Central Committee (PCC) and President of VFFCC said that call of the Party, State and VFF has mobilised the power of people’s hearts and aroused the spirit of mutual love and solidarity among the entire people so that no one is left behind in this difficult battle. More than ever, comradeship and compatriotism have been promoted and spread widely among people from all walks of life in the country and abroad. The joint efforts have contributed more resources to help push back the epidemic.

Priority given to workers and employees

The fourth outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic has been complicated since April 27. It has not only spread within the community but also “attacked” medical facilities and industrial parks, especially in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh. Production has stalled in several facilities, potentially disrupting some product supply chains.

In response to the great policy of the Party, State and VFF, the VFFCC, Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) held a text message campaign in support of COVID-19 prevention and control via the National Humanitarian Portal 1400 and launched vaccination programme for workers. The programme aimed to mobilise the support and donations from all social resources to the epidemic prevention and control so that all people, including workers, can access vaccine soon. The money raised from the campaign and programme will be used to fund the work of COVID-19 prevention and control, with special priority to buying vaccines for policy beneficiaries, the poor, workers and employees.

The VGCL’s President Nguyen Dinh Khanh said that COVID-19 epidemic has directly “attacked” workers and industrial parks with a high level of danger, putting great pressure on prevention and control of epidemic and socio-economic development in the country. The number of workers infected with COVID-19 accounts for more than 50% of the total number of positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 in the country. In addition, thousands of F1 and F2 cases are also workers, civil servants and employees. The figure is being increasing daily and shows no sign of stopping. Hundreds of enterprises have had to suspend their operation, threatening to disrupt national supply chains and production. As a result, thousands of employees have been forced to quit or lose their jobs due to quarantine, blockades and suspension of their companies’ operation. The coordination in calling for all people to text messages in support COVID-19 prevention and control among the three agencies aimed to implement the direction of the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Government and the Prime Minister with a harmonious and effective combination between the prevention and fight against the epidemic as well as to affirm their sharing with the Party and Government in mobilising resources for epidemic prevention and control, especially the COVID-19 Vaccine Fund.

Following its launching, the vaccination programme for workers has received the support from trade unions, businesses and benefactors. To date, the Golden Heart Charity Fund has received VND150 billion (over US$6.5 million) through the programme. Even workers who are living in difficult circumstances have made silent contributions. Hoang Thi Xuyen (from Hung Yen), a worker in Thang Long Industrial Park in Hanoi, donated VND20,000 to the vaccination programme for workers via a text message. Earlier, she also contributed one day of her basic salary through the campaign launched by her company. “Despite being small donations, they showed our hearts and wishes to share with our colleagues, contributing to the country’s anti-epidemic fight. I hope that my colleagues in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh will be vaccinated soon”, said Xuyen.

Chairman of Trade Union of Industrial Parks in Bac Ninh Province Nguyen The Quyet stressed that the vaccination programme for workers has a great significance. Business owners in the province are willing to conduct vaccination for their workers because of vaccines’ benefits in protecting workers’ safety as well as preventing production and business activities from stagnation and the disruption of production chain in industrial parks. Since May 27, around 240,000 workers and employees in the provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang have been vaccinated. The gradual resumption of industrial zones is expected to bring the two localities in a new stage with controlling the epidemic while promoting safe production towards reducing the load on quarantine areas, gradually stabilising workers’ incomes and lives, and restoring a safe environment for production and business.

Translated by NDO