Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam (centre) chairs the online conference. (Photo: VNA)
The online conference, held on April 27th, was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the steering committee and connected with different ministries and sectors.
The experts said that different countries were currently using two kinds of tests for SARS-CoV-2 virus, including a virus gene test, or PCR method, and antibody test, often used for quick tests.
The PCR method has high accuracy but requires professional skills. It needs to be conducted by experts with modern machines and shows results after a long time, about several hours.
The antibody test can be conducted quickly and simply. Those giving the test do not need special training or any special equipment. However, the method is not as accurate. Thus, PCR is often used to re-confirm the results.
The experts believe that to prevent and control COVID-19 effectively, the two methods should be combined.
The steering committee members agreed that although the country had not seen any new cases of COVID-19 in the community, ministries should still ensure preventive measures based on the Government’s and the Ministry of Health’s guidance.
Permanent Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that earlier Vietnam had used biological products from abroad for PCR tests, then it developed another PCR test product to replace foreign sources, which is manufactured by the Vietnam Military Medical University in co-ordination with the Viet A Corporation.
So far, about 212,000 samples have been tested and 270 cases tested positive for the disease.
Vietnam now has 112 Realtime-PCR laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 tests with total maximum capacity of more than 27,000 samples per day.
The country also ensures different medicines used for treating COVID-19 symptoms, face masks, protective equipment and ventilators./.