The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the military-run Viettel Group recently organised a nationwide training course on the COVID-19 vaccination management platform. More than 600 medical workers from 63 cities/provinces attended the online training course.
MIC has recently mobilised different resources to build technological platforms for the prevention and control of COVID-19. To date, six platforms have been deployed, including health declaration and entry/exit management systems with QR Codes, a vaccination management platform, sample taking and testing result systems, tracing support, quarantine supervision, and a data analysis platform to help managers.
According to the platform developer, the vaccination management platform has four systems: an electronic health book application, COVID-19 vaccination information portal, national immunisation support system, and response centre (MCC). The database of the platform is centrally managed, meeting the requirements on information synchronisation and transparency, from people to management agencies, a press release claimed.
MIC Deputy Minister Nguyen Huy Dung said the platform is designed to control the whole process of vaccination, from vaccine warehouse entry/exist, distribution and transportation to immunisation. It manages every dose, batch, and type of vaccine at each immunisation facility. “Technology will allow us to carry out immunisation more quickly and conveniently, thus helping obtain the goals set by the vaccination campaign,” Dung said.
The vaccination system will operate in a five-step process to ensure effective management, from vaccination registration to post-immunisation control. After people register for vaccination through the electronic health book and COVID-19 vaccination information portal, local health departments will approve and allocate doses of vaccines to district medical centres. The medical centres will set up plans and dispense vaccines to immunisation facilities. After the injection, people can check results and vaccination certificates through the electronic health book and vaccination information portal.
Vietnam has launched the largest ever immunisation campaign in history, under which at least 50% of people aged 18 or higher will be vaccinated in 2021 and over 70% of the population will be vaccinated by the end of Q1 2022. About 150 million injections will be implemented. Do Truong Duy, Deputy Director of the Preventive Medicine Department under MOH, affirmed that localities play a very important role in deploying the vaccination management platform. They need to enter data into the system to serve management. Vietnam is trying to speed up digital transformation in the healthcare sector, under which each person will have a QR Code and healthcare record.
Earlier this month, OpenGov Asia reported that Ho Chi Minh City is piloting the use of a mobile application, called VHD (Vietnam Health Declaration), developed by Viettel. The app will continuously monitor close contacts with COVID-19 patients or F1 cases, who are under home quarantine.
The mobile app will help the city, the country’s current largest COVID-19 hotspot, to keep track of the self-quarantined, make sure they strictly observe rules set by MOH, and get updates about their health conditions. The app has been used by the MOH to monitor how individuals entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions observe quarantine rules on a trial basis. It uses a combination of GPS signals and facial recognition technology to check the whereabouts of individuals under home quarantine and if they do not adhere to protocols or leave the house. The home-quarantined persons will be required to register their mobile number and a Face ID, along with the location of their houses.
