Bad intentions distorting Vietnam’s fight against COVID-19 fail

The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam is in a critical period. The administration at all levels, frontline forces, and the public have stepped up their efforts to contain the pandemic.

At the frontline of the fight against the pandemic, medical staff, the army, the police, and other forces are working hard to contain the coronavirus and ensure adequate supplies of food and medicines to everyone, following the motto ‘no one is left behind’.

Military servicemen, policemen, local cadres, and volunteers are on duty around the clock, buying and delivering food and other necessities to people in social distancing areas, and transporting urns containing the ashes of COVID-19 victims to their surviving relatives. These activities are in the Vietnamese tradition of mutual support, love, and solidarity.

In an affront to this noble effort, some people are spreading the ridiculous claim on the Internet that the people performing these selfless activities are just showing off. There have also been articles, including from RFA, RFI, BBC, and other overseas media networks, criticizing efforts by the army to assist pandemic efforts as inappropriate and calling the government’s preventive measures in the southern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City unscientific. Some have accused the government of using deception in its vaccination campaign without giving any justification of this baseless accusation.

All attempts to distort the policies and intentions of the Party and State to contain the pandemic ignore the reality that if the pandemic is allowed to spread, the consequences for everyone will be devastating. The involvement of the army and police forces has encouraged people to comply with pandemic preventive measures. Those forces have maintained public security and social order and managed the delivery of food and other necessities to people who must stay at home to control the spread of the coronavirus. Their efforts have made people feel more comfortable and secure in a difficult period.

Social distancing is being used in many countries to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Along with other measures – facemasks, disinfectants, limited gatherings, and health declarations – social distancing and vaccination are the keys to ending the pandemic. These are scientific methods recommended by health experts, implemented by the authorities, and supported by the public.

The world has been pushing ahead with COVID-19 vaccination, and positive results are being reported in the US, the UK, and Israel. Vietnam’s goal of achieving nationwide vaccination is based on scientific results that are being seen in countries around the world.

It must be stressed that misrepresentations about Vietnam's determined fight against COVID-19 are meant to undermine people’s trust in the leadership of the Party and State. But Vietnamese people should not be fooled by these malicious distortions. It is the strong determination of the Party and the solidarity and faith of the Vietnamese people that will win the fight against this pandemic.