Gay Vietnam

From Vietnam News Almost one million adults were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Hà Nội over the weekend as the capital city is ramping up inoculation efforts, according to the city’s Health Department. The department said 411,000 injections were administered on Saturday and 537,828 on Sunday. This was the highest number of people vaccinated since the city began its push to inoculate all adults, and was almost eight times higher than most injections given each day last month. Along with the city’s health workers, about 400,000 medical staff from 11 northern provinces supported Hà Nội in both testing and vaccinations. https://vietnamnews.vn/society/…

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese nationals and foreigners can now register online for COVID-19 vaccines, according to Nguyễn Trường Nam, Deputy Head of the Information Technology Department of the Ministry of Health. The ministry has confirmed that anyone over the age 18 can choose one of two ways to register for their vaccination online. “The entire process, from registering for online vaccination to looking up vaccination history and results, can be done on the E-health app. The healthcare sector can monitor quantities of people who registered for vaccination, have received vaccine shots or remain unvaccinated, and the number of vaccines delivered to…

From Vietnam Express Poland said it would donate over 501,000 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses and transfer another three million to Vietnam. It would also aid Vietnam with medical equipment worth $4 million, expected to be delivered to Ho Chi Minh City on Aug. 25. In a Tuesday meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Polish Ambassador to Vietnam Wojciech Gerwel, Chinh thanked the Polish government for the help and said he shared in Poland's losses and difficulties during the pandemic, the country having recorded over three million Covid-19 cases and lost around 75,000 lives to the disease. Chinh also requested Poland to continue …

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — The Government has agreed to buy additional 20 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, on top of the contract for 31 million doses signed with the US company in May. The Ministry of Health was assigned to purchase the vaccine as soon as possible to meet COVID-19 prevention and control efforts and ensure quality and efficiency during the purchase and use of the vaccine. The price is not publicly available, but Pfizer has a 'differential pricing approach' for its vaccines, which essentially means Việt Nam could purchase the doses at a more affordable price than the developed nations like the US or the EU. https://vie…

From Toui Tre News Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup will build a plant capable of producing up to 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per year under a U.S. technology transfer, amid the country’s efforts to secure enough jabs for slowing COVID-19 infections. The vaccine plant will be constructed under a technology transfer agreement that Vingroup made with U.S.-based Arcturus Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines. The plant, to be located at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi’s Thach That District, will have a designed capacity of between 100 and 200 m…

From Channel News Asia HANOI: Vietnam announced a 15-day lockdown in the capital Hanoi starting Saturday (Jul 24) as a coronavirus surge spread from the southern Mekong Delta region. The lockdown order, issued late Friday night, bans the gathering of more than two people in public. Only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses are allowed to stay open. Earlier in the week, the city had suspended all outdoor activities and ordered non-essential businesses to close following an increase in cases. On Friday, Hanoi reported 70 confirmed infections, the city's highest, part of a record 7,295 cases in the country in the last 24 hours. Nearly 5,…

From Channel News Asia MOSCOW: Russia announced on Wednesday (Jul 21) that a batch of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine was produced for the first time in Vietnam, which is battling a new wave of COVID-19 infections. The test batch was produced in partnership with Vietnam's state-owned pharmaceutical company Vabiotech, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financially backed Sputnik V, said in a statement. The first samples from the batch will be shipped to the vaccine's developer - the Gamaleya Centre in Moscow - for quality control, the RDIF added. "RDIF and Vabiotech are actively cooperating in the technology transfer process to provide e…

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — The first shipment of 97,110 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines arrived at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội on Wednesday morning. Vietnamese deputy health minister Trương Quốc Cường, Christopher Klein, Chargé d'Affaires, of the US Embassy in Hà Nội, and John Paul Pullicino, Country Manager and Chief Representative at Pfizer Việt Nam, were at the airport for the reception ceremony for the first vaccine batch. In total in the 31 million doses will be supplied to Việt Nam in 2021. More shipments of Pfizer vaccines to Việt Nam in subsequent weeks to ensure that Việt Nam will receive three million doses in the third…

From Vietnam Express Vietnam has decided to shorten centralized quarantine time for fully vaccinated entrants from 21 days to seven, as the country plans to initiate a vaccine passport program. Officials made the announcement at a meeting Friday between the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It's still not clear when the new quarantine period will be applied and if it will be limited to a number of destinations in Vietnam. But it is part of the country's plan to trial the use of vaccine passports that allow foreigners to travel to certain destinations that have managed th…

From The Diplomat Students and representatives from Viet Pride at event at Danang University of Architecture. By Hugh Bohane The gay former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir said, “It is absolutely imperative that every human being’s freedom and human rights are respected, all over the world.” Sigurðardóttir’s message, delivered while defending LGBTQ+ rights at a 2014 Pride festival, would certainly have been welcomed by LGBTQ+ communities as far away as Vietnam, a country that still, like much of Asia, hasn’t fully advanced LGBTQ+ rights as yet. It has been over a year since columnist Thoi Nguyen’s article “The Fight for LGBT Right…

From Vietnam News A scene from Ròm movie with the actor Trần Anh Khoa (left). — Photo idolvnnet.com HÀ NỘI — Trần Anh Khoa, the young actor who played the titular character in Ròm has been awarded the best actor award at the 18th Asian Film Festival which concluded in Rome, Italy on Wednesday. The organisers praised Khoa for his instinctive, energetic and agile acting to play a character who is constantly moving in a hectic life in the city. On behalf of Khoa, who is still in Canada, a representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy received the award and said they appreciated the recognition and encouragement of the organising board for the Vi…

From VN Express YouTube has honored Dustin Phuc Nguyen as one of four pioneering LGBTQ+ creators in Southeast Asia who use the streaming platform to advocate for their communities. "Dustin Phuc Nguyen gave up a potential TV host career as a VJ for MTV channel in 2016 to co-start his YouTube channel, Dustin On The Go, where he hosts his own creative shows, starring top celebrities and influencers," YouTube said in a blog post on June 18. Many of his talk shows have become very popular, including ‘Bar Stories,’ in which he meets and talks with celebrities while drinking cocktails, and ‘Caraoke with Dustin.’ He came out as gay in a talk show on national …

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is about to launch the largest-ever vaccination campaign with around 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to be injected, Health Minister Nguyễn Thành Long has said. Addressing a conference on the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Tuesday, Long said that eight storage facilities will be installed, with one in the High Command of Hà Nội, and seven in military regions across the nation. All vaccine storage facilities must meet Good Storage Practices (GSP) standards to ensure vaccine quality, he said. About 15,000 vaccination stations have assigned sufficient human resources and accounts to u…

From the Vietnam News MILAN — Police in Italy have arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese citizens found in the back of a lorry container. An international arrest warrant was executed on June 10th and the man, named by police as Dragos Damian, was taken into custody just outside Milan. He has since been charged with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence. The arrest is in relation to the deaths of the Vietnamese who were discovered in a lorry trailer in Grays, Essex in the United Kingdom in October 2019. A spokesman for Essex Police said: “The Crown Pro…

From the BBC website Sunday 30 May Vietnam has detected a Covid variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly in the air, officials say. Vietnam's Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long described the latest mutation on Saturday as "very dangerous". ... Mr. Nguyen said the new hybrid variant was more transmissible than previously known versions, especially in the air. He said it was discovered after running tests on newly infected patients, online newspaper VnExpress reported. …

From Bangkok Post HANOI: As an LGBTQ activist, legal whizz-kid and Vietnam's first openly gay candidate running for a seat in its rubber-stamp parliament, Luong The Huy is determined to lead long-lasting change for the country's marginalised communities. Huy, 32, is one of just nine independent candidates running for Vietnam's National Assembly in elections to be held across the country on Sunday and wants to boost the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, who have long felt discrimination. But getting his name on the ballot in the communist, one-party state was no simple task. At the last elections five years ago, more than 100 ind…

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam is expected to receive 31 million COVID-19 vaccine doses developed by US-based firm Pfizer in the second half of 2021, said the Ministry of Health (MoH). The MoH and relevant agencies have taken measures to accelerate negotiations towards signing an agreement to purchase the vaccine. According to Health Minister Nguyễn Thanh Long, the ministry has coordinated with the Government Office, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Justice, to consult Cabinet members on the purchase of the Pfizer vaccine, and prepare to sign an agreement for 31 million doses as soon as possible. The MoH has also negot…

From Tuoi Tre News (VCPN), a network which seeks to highlight the importance of advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights and workplace inclusion practices in Vietnam, has launched an official website after hosting its first networking event on Wednesday. The VCPN is a joint collaborative effort of KPMG Vietnam and the ICS Center, with active support from the Consulates General of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue (AVYLD). The VCPN will be driven by ICS, a Vietnamese nonprofit that runs local and national inclusion programs for the LGBTI community. …

From Bangkok Post HANOI: Vietnam will start building the first phase of what will become its largest airport near its economic hub Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday, as it seeks to speed up public investment to shore up economic growth amid the coronavirus pandemic. The first phase of the Long Thanh airport in Dong Nai province will cost US$4.66 billion and will be operational from 2025, the government said in a statement on its website. It will include a 4 kilometre runway, a terminal and related facilities capable of serving 25 million passengers and handling 1.2 million tonnes of cargo a year, it said. The entire project, when fully operational, would be …

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Viet Nam faces a significantly imbalanced sex ratio at birth (SRB) that will mean by 2034, about 1.5 million men will not be able to marry wives, a study has found. The results of studies by the General Statistics Office and the United Nations Population Fund were released yesterday. The key findings of these studies provide information about the current situation, trends and factors influencing the population, as well as help propose suggestions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The analysis was based on the results of the 2019 Population and Housing Census, which were announced on December 19, 2019. The prefe…

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — The long-delayed Cát Linh-Hà Đông urban rail project, the first metro in Hà Nội, entered a 20-day whole-system trial run on Saturday. At 5am on Saturday morning, the first train left Cát Linh station. Another train also left Yên Nghĩa station in the outlying district of Hà Đông at about the same time. Nine trains of the project’s total of 13 are to be used in the trial, with the wait for a train at any station set at about 6-7 minutes, which might be shortened to 2-3 minutes during rush hours, according to the Hà Nội Metro One Member Company Limited (HMC). There will be about 287 train trips per day, the company said. …

NOTE -- After posting this I realized that article was published last March. Since it contained some information I was unaware of, I'm leaving it up because others may appreciate the information when the country reopens to tourism. From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s immigration laws will undergo a radical shake-up this summer in an effort to widen the doors for tourists while protecting the country from foreign criminals and illegal workers. Speaking exclusively to Việt Nam News, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Minh from the Department of Immigration said major changes would include temporary permits for tourists, visa exemptions and changes to visa status…

From MSN / BBC Vietnam has minimised the economic damage from Covid-19 and is the only country in South East Asia on track for growth this year. Its economy is expected to grow 2.4% this year, according to latest figures from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF credited “decisive steps to contain the health and economic fallout from COVID-19” for the country’s success. Vietnam has had only 1,288 Covid-19 cases and 35 deaths. The IMF is predicting a strong economic recovery in 2021, with growth projected to strengthen to 6.5% “as normalisation of domestic and foreign economic activity continues.” Although Vietnam lacks the health infrastr…

I received sad news from friend in Ha Tinh. Six persons from his province died when the vehicle they were riding in went off road and overturned into a canal. Five others were injured. They apparently intended to try to make it into Thailand. Police believe that the driver fell asleep. Among the dead are said to be three from the same family.

NOTE -- Although the following article was published this month, Vietnam currently remains closed to international tourists. From US News and World Report Consider retirement overseas in this exotic and affordable country A long-favored destination among backpackers and adventure tourists, Vietnam offers staggeringly beautiful landscapes, a colorful local culture and an extremely low cost of living. Retirees considering moving overseas to Vietnam need to be adventuresome and comfortable with dramatic culture shock. If you are open to exotic new experiences, Vietnam could be your chance to enjoy a rich, vibrant retirement on a tiny budget. Vietnam is one…