Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Hanoi, March 12, 2021. (Photo: Doan Tan / VNA)

The Committee said at its meeting on Friday, in Hanoi, that currently only foreign experts are allowed in and even if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, they must comply with a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Listening to opinions of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Information and Communications, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said Vietnam’s technical system will be ready for vaccine visa in April.

“Vietnam's technical system has not yet allowed the implementation of vaccine visa. In order to be ready for this in the future when the effectiveness of the vaccine is confirmed, the Ministry of Health has made initial preparations and the technical system will be ready in April,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dam.

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. By the end of next month, Vietnam will receive more than 4 million doses from Covax, a global risk-sharing mechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.