Vietnamese returning with ‘vaccine passport’ undergoes mandatory quarantine

One of the first Vietnamese nationals with a « vaccine passport » was quarantined Wednesday on return from the U.S. per existing Covid-19 protocols.

Calvin Q Trinh, a Vietnamese national in the U.S., said he landed at the Tan Son Nhat Airport Wednesday morning on a repatriation flight. Prior to returning to Vietnam, he had received two Covid-19 vaccine shots by Moderna in the U.S., evidenced by a « Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card » with his passport, he said Thursday.

However, as Vietnam is yet to have policies for people with « vaccine passports » entering the country, Trinh would still have to be quarantined for 14 days at a hotel in HCMC’s District 3.

Trinh, a doctor specializing in post-birth rehabilitation, said that his vaccination record did not affect the likelihood of him returning to Vietnam.

As the world started rolling out Covid-19 vaccine shots, vaccination certificates have emerged to identify those who have been vaccinated for cross-border travel. Several countries have different policies regarding such certification, including approval for cross-border travel or shortened quarantine periods for those who have been vaccinated.

Vietnam is yet to introduce policies regarding the vaccination certificates. Anyone entering the country still has to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine, except in certain special cases like diplomats.

Vietnam has begun to roll out its Covid-19 vaccination campaign starting Monday, prioritized for frontline workers in 13 cities and provinces with recent coronavirus outbreaks. The country has ordered 30 million doses from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, and around 117,600 arrived late last month. An additional 4.1 million AstraZeneca doses would be provided through global vaccine access mechanism Covax by April.

The coronavirus tally so far in Vietnam is 2,529, with 486 active cases and 35 deaths.

By Phan Anh – VnExpress.net – March 11, 2021