MoT proposes Government prioritize seafarers in COVID-19 vaccinations
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The MoT also requested the Government to direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Vietnamese crew members who stuck abroad return home on repatriation flights.
The agency then requested the Governments and the People's Committees of provinces and cities that, Vietnamese seafarers who are quarantined in concentrated isolation areas should be prioritized at an affordable cost.
Earlier, Vietnam has proposed the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) consider the issuance of regulations on prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations for sailors regardless of their nationalities, thus minimizing the risk of the virus spreading among the group.
The proposal was put forth in a letter from Nguyen Xuan Sang, Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Deputy Secretary-General of the IMO Vietnam, to IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.
In late March, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a joint statement calling on United Nations member states to put seafarers and crew members at the head of the vaccine queue to facilitate safe travel between countries.
Agreed to this point, the Vietnam Shipowners' Association affirmed that the move is to keep nation supplied with vital goods and contributing to the recovery and stabilization of the economy.