Vietnam has weathered three COVID-19 waves with the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy”, mobilizing to the maximum the consensus and support from the public to the Government’s pandemic fight measures. Limited as its budget is, yet Vietnam has emerged as one of the few countries in the world to have achieved the “dual goal” (both fighting the pandemic and developing the economy), and its prospects been raised to “positive” from “stable” by Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch. Vietnam is also one of the few developing countries preparing to conduct clinical tests of the homegrown COVID-19 vaccine for the third stage. 
However, the Southeast Asian country has been facing the most dangerous wave since the end of April, with the intrusion of fast-infecting India and UK COVID variants. Over 7,000 people have contracted the disease; hundreds of thousands of others quarantined; many localities had to apply social distancing at the highest level; and thousands of enterprises, domestic and foreign invested alike, been forced to suspend or scale down their operation. 
On the basis of other countries’ experience and the danger of the fourth wave, the Vietnamese Government promptly defined vaccination as a basic and long-term measure in the fight against the pandemic which can be basically put under control only when vaccination achieves the herd immunity. A concrete goal has been set: ensuring the budget to purchase 150 million vaccine doses to administer free of charge on the nearly 100 million of Vietnam’s population and, at the same time, providing the maximum assistance for the research and production of vaccines domestically so as to ensure a long-term supply. 
The Government has earmarked 500 million USD (12 trillion VND) from the state budget to buy vaccine, and launched the initiative of mobilizing the support from the whole population to the COVID-19 vaccine fund so as to maximizing support, consensus and promoting the tradition of solidarity to overcome difficulties of the people in the pandemic fight. 
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has affirmed that the COVID-19 vaccine fund is that of the people-loving and solidarity spirit, the trust and the heart-to-heart connection. Contributions to the fund are totally voluntary, humane and humanitarian. The Vietnamese Government head affirmed the fund management will be transparent and in conformity with the law. Vietnam will accelerate the free vaccination plan throughout the country, with priority given to the frontline workers against the pandemic and those of enterprises, both domestic and foreign invested, with a view to ensuring production. 
The whole people of all walks of life and enterprises and economic groups have shown their consensus in supporting the Government’s humane drive. Just more than a week after its debut on June 5, the fund had received nearly 220 million USD (over 5 trillion VND). 
Dr. Kidong Park, Chief Representative of the World Health Organization in Vietnam, described the mobilization of resources to improve the access to vaccines by the Vietnamese Government as very timely, suitable to the global vaccine initiative, and expressed his hope Vietnam will remain an example of the all-people access in ending the pandemic. Caitlin Wiesen, Chief Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, said UNDP has conducted a study on the people’s experience in the COVID-19, the outcome of which shows a really extensive support from the Vietnamese people to the Government’s decisions on the fight. 
Not only Vietnamese individuals and enterprises but also foreign companies and groups in Vietnam are also enthusiastic in contributing to the fund although they are facing numerous difficulties caused by the pandemic. They hope Vietnam will accelerate the vaccination and achieve the early immunity so that the business environment can come back to normal. Hong Sun, Vice Chairman of the Korean Enterprises’ Association (KorCham), President and CEO of the HS Construction and Development Company of South Korea, called the fund a very good initiative as it helps mobilize contributions from the whole people and enterprises. In his opinion, the pandemic fight is a matter of not only the Government or a certain organization, but of the whole people and enterprises. Korean firms investing in Vietnam have joined hands in contributing to the fund right at the launch ceremony on June 5 and will continue going along with the Vietnamese Government and people. 
To Vietnam, the immediate and urgent task is to ensure the supply of vaccines and conduct the effective vaccination to achieve the herd immunity. A long-term requirement is to hold the constant initiative in the supply of vaccines through international cooperation and domestic production capacity with a view to coping with every dangerous variants of the virus. The fight will go on for long and the Vietnamese Government remains totally confident on its anti-pandemic strategy based on the social consensus.