RESOLUTION

ON PURCHASE AND USE OF COVID-19 VACCINES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; Law on amendments to the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of local governments dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on prevention and control of infectious diseases dated November 21, 2007;

Pursuant to the direction of the Poliburo, Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the Official Dispatch No. 50-CV/VPTW dated February 19, 2021 of the Communist Party Office;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 138/2016/ND-CP dated October 1, 2016 on promulgation of working regulations of the Government;

At the request of the Minister of Health,

HEREBY RESOLVES:

Article 1. Assign the Ministry of Health to take charge and cooperate with Ministries, agencies, and local governments in purchasing, importing, receiving donated vaccines, managing and using COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 for people aged at least 18:

1. Quantity: around 150 million doses.  The Minister of Health shall, in response to the COVID-19 prevention and control situation, exercise discretion over specific quantity of vaccines to be purchased or imported in every period.

2. Mechanism for vaccine purchase: Undertake the procurement in special cases as prescribed in Article 26 of the Law on Procurement 2013.

Article 2. Priority entities and areas receiving free vaccines

1. Priority entities receiving free vaccines:

a) Front-liners in COVID-19 prevention and control, including:

- Healthcare workers;

- Those who join COVID-19 prevention and control (members of steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control at all levels, staff at designated quarantine sites, those who carry out contact tracing and epidemiological investigations, community-based COVID groups, volunteers, reporters, etc.);

- Military and public security forces.

b) Vietnamese diplomats to be sent abroad, customs and immigration officers;

c) Essential service workers in such sectors like aviation, transport, tourism, electricity and water supply, etc;

d) Teachers and those who work at education and training facilities, those who work at administrative agencies that have regular contact with various people;

e) People with chronic illnesses, people aged above 65;

g) Residents in pandemic-hit areas;

dd) Poor people, policy beneficiaries;

h) Those who will be sent abroad for business, learning or working by competent regulatory agencies.

i) Other people subject to decision of the Ministry of Health depending on COVID-19 situation.

2. Priority areas: Priority will be given to the entities mentioned in clause 1 in the pandemic-hit provinces and central-affiliated cities; in the province or city, those in the pandemic-hit areas will be vaccinated first.

3. According to the vaccine supply capacity, priority is given to those who join the COVID-19 prevention and control and those in pandemic-hit areas.

Article 3. Sources of funds

1. The state budget shall ensure the vaccination based on decentralization of state budget:

a) The local budget will be used to ensure the vaccination of local residents and others under local management.

b) The central budget will be used to guarantee vaccination for people under the management of central agencies and to finance local budget as follows:

- Mountainous and the central highlands provinces: the central budget will finance 70% of the actual amount of spending set aside from the state budget as prescribed;

- Remaining provinces or central-affiliated cities:

+ The provinces and cities that transfer at least 50% of revenues to the central budget: shall take initiative in using the reserve fund of the local budget to ensure the vaccination;

+ The provinces and cities that transfer less than 50% of revenues to the central budget: The central budget shall finance 30% of amount to be covered by the state budget;

+ Remaining provinces and cities that are unable to balance the budgets: The central budget shall finance 50% of amount to be covered by the state budget;

The provinces and cities shall use up to 50% of the reserve fund of local budgets, up to 70% of the provincial financial reserve fund to perform the COVID-19 prevention and control. If a province or city sets a large expenditure on prevention and control of COVID-19, which exceeds the local resource including: 50% of the reserve fund of local budgets (including 3 levels: province, district, commune) and 70% of the provincial financial reserve fund, the central budget shall make up the difference that exceeds local resources to ensure sufficient funding.

2. Aids from domestic and foreign organizations and other legal sources.

3. Voluntary funding from organizations and individuals that use the vaccines.

Article 4. Implementation

1. Ministry of Health:

a) Act as a central point to purchase, import, receive donated vaccines; be held accountable for quality, prices; manage, distribute, ensure publicness and transparency, prevent waste and misconduct as directed by the Poliburo, Secretariat in the Official Dispatch No. 50-CV/VPTW dated February 19, 2021 and the Standing board of Government in the Official Dispatch No. 312/VPCP-KGVX dated February 8, 2021.

b) Set up a working group composed on a leader by the leader of the Ministry of Health, members by leaders of Ministries of Finance, Planning and Investment, Public Security, Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade to purchase and impose vaccines.

c) Plan and direct the People’s Committees of provinces or central-affiliated cities to initiate the vaccination in a safe manner.

d) Further specify vaccination prices as prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 104/2016/ND-CP dated July 1, 2016 on vaccination.

dd) Receive aids and donation and cooperate with the Central Committee of Vietnamese Fatherland Front in receiving and receiving donations through the Central Committee of Vietnamese Fatherland Front for vaccination purpose.

e) Send periodic reports to the Government on implementation of this Resolution.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall allocate the central budget as prescribed in clause 1 Article 3 to purchase, import, and receive vaccines, deliver, and store and for vaccination costs as requested by the Ministry of Health and other Ministries and central agencies.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assess requests for vaccine purchase in special cases by the Ministry of Health prescribed in Article 26 of the Law on Procurement 2013 and seek approval from the Prime Minister in a timely manner.

4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall cooperate in seeking partners and relevant diplomatic procedures.

5. The Ministry of Transport shall cooperate in delivery of vaccines upon request of the Ministry of Health.

6. The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies shall cooperate with the Ministry of Health in planning and performing vaccination for entities within their scope of management.

7. Recommend eligible organizations to provide voluntary vaccination for organizations and individuals on their demand at their own costs. Organizations, units, enterprises, for the purpose of giving vaccination to employees, may use the given budget estimate of current expenditures as per the law on state budget or the operational funding as per the law, or record the vaccination spending as deductible expense upon determination of taxable income as per the law on corporate income tax.

8. The People’s Committees of province or central-affiliated city shall request the People’s Council at the same administrative level to set aside an amount in local budget to initiate the vaccination for entities within its scope of management.

Article 5. Implementation clause

1. This Resolution comes into force as of the date of signing.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of Governmental agencies, the Presidents of People’s Committees of provinces or central-affiliated cities shall implement this Resolution./.

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