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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404057

Govt to address seven urgent issues to spur development

Mar 24. 2021Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh

By Vientiane News / ANN

Addressing financial affairs, particularly public debt and financial leaks, is one of the seven urgent issues that the government will tackle over the next five years.

Newly-elected Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh highlighted the seven concerns when presenting a draft of the 9th five-year National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-25 and State Budget Plan for 2021-25 to the National Assembly on Monday.

The amount of revenue generated was insufficient and did not align with the potential offered by the country, meaning there were inadequate financial resources to drive development, he said. 

Mr Phankham vowed to increase revenue and address the chronic public debt in order to boost economic growth, and to incorporate an austerity policy into the national agenda.

Secondly, the government will take strong action to counter social ills such as corruption, drug trafficking, and road accidents, which are hindering the country’s development.

The PM said the government is keen to create an environment that is conducive to attracting more investment and to take action against officials who abuse their position of power for personal gain.

Thirdly, the government will focus on economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and create more job opportunities.

In addition, the government will address economic vulnerability, focusing on quality growth and reducing reliance on the ineffective extraction of natural resources to boost economic growth. The government will also push for the implementation of priority projects, especially those relating to productivity and services.

Fifth, the government will try to reduce development disparities between urban and rural areas to allow more people to access basic public services, especially health and education.

Sixth, the government will focus on human resource development, moving towards professionalism in response to the 4.0 digital age and new normal.

Finally, issues relating to exchange rate fluctuations and depreciation of the kip will be addressed by boosting the production of goods for export and reducing imports.

Laos is vulnerable to external shocks, climate change and natural disasters, the effects of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and have increased the government’s public debt and fiscal deficit.

Over the past five years, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 5.8 percent, lower than the 7.2 percent approved by the National Assembly.

However, this figure is higher than the global average economic growth rate thanks to the support of development partners and friendly countries.

Of particular significance is the fact that the uninterrupted construction of large-scale development projects continues to drive economic growth.

These include the Laos-China railway, Vientiane-Boten expressway, special economic zones, tourism development projects, and industrial parks.

Construction of the Laos-China railway is now more than 90 percent complete and is scheduled for full completion at the end of this year. On Tuesday, National Assembly members debated the socio-economic development and state budget plans for 2021-2025.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404056

Central, local governments in Japan suspend use of Line messaging app

Mar 24. 2021

By The Japan News / ANN

A number of central and local governments are suspending their use of the free messaging app Line as a result of user information having been accessible to an affiliated company in China.

The impact of the situation is expanding, as operations such as suicide prevention consultations are also switching their platforms to other social networking services and telephones.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry had been posting on its website the contact information for private organizations working on suicide prevention, to help promote their use. After discussing the matter with the ministry, however, three organizations had switched to other social networking services and phones as of last Saturday.

These consultations, which used Line and other social services, got fully underway in April 2018, supported by subsidies from the ministry. The total number of consultations received was about 68,000 as of the end of March 2020, of which 84%, or 57,000, came via Line.

A representative of Tokyo Mental Health Square, a non-profit organization that suspended its Line use, said: “Consultations include information about situations that people don’t want even their family members to know about, so the most important thing is that the information not be leaked. The central government should thoroughly study the safety of social networking services.”

The Chiba prefectural government has also suspended the use of four of its six Line accounts for resident services. One of the accounts suspended was used to monitor the health of people infected with the novel coronavirus and who were recovering at home or at hotels. The service will be handled by phone for the time being.

Chiba Prefecture will maintain a Line account for suicide prevention, as the government considers this to be vitally important.

The Osaka city government has decided to suspend about 60 Line services, including the dissemination of daily life information on child-rearing and other topics, as well as consultation services for children and students.

The Tokyo-based Line Corp., which operates the service, said no information was leaked due to the problem. According to the company, about 900 local governments have official Line accounts. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry requested local governments nationwide to report on their Line usage by Friday.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404016

India reducing dependence on oil import, exploration of oil and gas underway in country

Mar 23. 2021

By The Statesman/ANN

The government is making all efforts to reduce import dependence. India’s oil and oil equivalent gas import dependence in 2014-15 and 2015-16 were 68.9% and 72.2% respectively and during current April-January, 2020-21 is 77.1%.

Oil Industry Development Cess at the rate of 20% ad valorem is applicable on crude oils produced from pre-NELP blocks and at present, there is no such proposal to amend the rate of cess.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has taken several steps inter alia promotion of renewable and alternate fuels like ethanol, second-generation ethanol, compressed biogas and biodiesel, promotion of natural gas as clean fuel/feedstock in the country with a view to moving towards a gas-based economy, refinery process improvements, promoting energy efficiency and conservation, efforts for increasing production of oil and natural gas through various policies under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) regime, Discovered Small Field Policy, Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, Setting up of National Data Repository, etc.

The government has also provided functional freedom to National Oil Companies and wider private sector participation by streamlining approval processes including an electronic single-window mechanism. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is also working in collaboration with various Central Government Ministries/stakeholders to make efforts to achieve a reduction in import dependency on oil.

Exploration of Oil and gas in the country are taking place under:

Nomination Regime – by ONGC and OIL

PSC/RSC Regime – by Indian & Foreign Companies & JVs, including PSUs

At present, Exploration and Production activities are taking place ~2,75,000 sq. km area across different sedimentary basins across India in onshore and offshore areas under Nomination, PSC and RSC Regimes.

This information was given by the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404015

China urges justice for Atlanta victims

Mar 23. 2021Leon Zhang (left) and Chris Tang of McLean, Virginia, take part in a rally on Sunday in Washington in response to the Atlanta spa shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women. One of the dead was a Chinese citizen. [Photo/Agencies]

By China Daily/ANN

China has urged the United States to bring to justice the suspect who last week killed eight people－including six women of Asian descent－in a shooting spree in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry made the call for timely justice on Monday, when it confirmed that a Chinese citizen was among the victims of the attacks carried out by a white man at three spas on March 16.

The ministry urged the US to ensure fairness for the victims and their families.

“We urge the US side to ensure safety and legitimate rights and interests Chinese people in the country,” Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, adding that the Chinese embassy is closely following the handling of the case and will provide active assistance to the family of the deceased.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden took aim at the “ugly poisons” of “systemic racism and white supremacy” that he said had long plagued the country, and vowed to change the laws that enabled continued discrimination.

In blunt language, Biden said the country faced problems with racism, xenophobia and nativism.

It followed similar sentiments from US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who detailed in Atlanta on Friday the US history of discrimination against Asian Americans.

“Racism is real in America and it has always been,” said Harris, the country’s first Asian-American, first black and first female vice-president. “Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism too.”

Telling the truth

Commenting on Harris’ remarks, Hua said the vice-president told the truth about the US.

“Hate crimes and racism acts against Asians have been on the rise in the US in recent years, and there have been many tragedies,” she said. “Fifty-eight years after Dr Martin Luther King gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, ‘Floyds’ still can’t breathe. Nearly 20 years after Sept 11 terror attacks, Muslims in the US still face systematic discrimination and stigmatization.”

Hua was referring to the police killing in May last year of George Floyd in Minnesota. The black man was declared dead after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn’t breathe.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the previous US administration has spread false information and racist hate speeches. As a direct result, Asians in the US have been ravaged by systematic, racial discrimination and hate crimes, she said.

“The US should not only have the courage to face up to the problem, but also have the determination to solve it,” she said.

With the widespread coverage over the killings, US law enforcement authorities are under pressures to treat them as a hate crime.

Xin Hua, an Asian American, said she was “really angry” that police in Atlanta have yet to say the shooting was racially motivated.

Thousands marched at rallies on Sunday to denounce anti-Asian racism in major cities including Atlanta, New York and Washington, as well as in Montreal, Canada.

“The fact is that six Asian women were killed,” Xin Hua, 37, said in Washington, where hundreds of protesters had gathered.

Agencies contributed to this story.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404014

As state of emergency lifted, crowds trickle back to Japan’s city streets

Mar 23. 2021People walk across the Shibuya scramble crossing in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday, the last day under the state of emergency. (The Yomiuri Shimbun)

By The Japan News/ANN

An uptick in foot traffic in the waning days of the two-and-a-half-month-long state of emergency, which was lifted for Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures on Sunday, has prompted calls for continued vigilance to prevent a resurgence of the novel coronavirus.

A significant increase in the number of people at major train stations and central city areas was observed on Saturday, compared to the first weekend after the state of emergency was last renewed in January.

In response, the Tokyo metropolitan government and experts have urged the public to keep up their guard.

At a press conference on Sunday evening, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike reemphasized the ongoing need to take thorough measures against infection, saying, “Please be aware that we have now entered the rebound prevention stage, and ask for continued cooperation to avoid a fourth wave of infections.”

The moving average of new daily cases over the week leading up until Sunday came to 301.1, exceeding 300 for the first time in about a month since Feb. 23.

According to a mobile spatial statistics report compiled by NTT Docomo Inc., which estimates visitor numbers based on smartphone location information, the number of people in Shibuya Center-gai shopping street in Tokyo at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday was 13.6% lower than January and February last year before the surge in coronavirus cases. This figure was 25.7 points higher than the 39.3% drop observed on Jan. 9, the first Saturday after the declaration was reissued.

In some areas, the number of visitors had grown compared to before the surge in infections. Yokohama Station posted an increase of 18.5% and Chiba Station saw a 14% increase, a reversal of the decreased footfall observed at both stations in January (16.7% and 3.7% respectively).

Koji Wada, a professor of public health at the International University of Health and Welfare, said, “As we enter the season of cherry blossom viewing and welcome and farewell parties, we can assume more people will be gathering in groups to dine together. I would like to ask everyone to keep the number of participants at a minimum and to refrain from attending if you are feeling unwell. Even though the state of emergency has been lifted, it is important for each and every one of us to live our lives with an awareness to prevent the fourth wave from occurring.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404013

Mekong Delta needs $16.5b over 5 years to foster sustainable development

Mar 23. 2021The Government will prioritise funding for the Mekong Delta region to improve its traffic infrastructure and combat climate change, according to the Ministry of Investment and Planning. VNA/VNS Photo

By Viet Nam News/ANN

HCM CITY – The Mekong Delta needs VNĐ338 trillion (US$16.5 billion) in the next five years to upgrade its traffic infrastructure, improve water storage and mitigate riverbank and coastal erosion.

At a meeting in Cần Thơ late last week Minister of Investment and Planning Nguyễn Chí Dũng said the region needs over VNĐ198 trillion ($8.6 billion) for traffic infrastructure.

The major expressways with a total of over 1,000 km including Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway, Châu Đốc – Cần Thơ – Sóc Trăng Expressway, and Hà Tiên – Rạch Giá – Bạc Liêu Expressway will cost VND150 trillion ($6.49 billion), expected to improve connectivity in the region. 

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has instructed the Ministry of Transport to prioritise the Cần Thơ – Cà Mau Expressway in 2021-25 and solicit private investment for the HCM City – Trung Lương – Mỹ Thuận – Cần Thơ – Cà Mau highway. 

The Trung Lương – Mỹ Thuận Expressway should be completed this year and open to traffic, he said.

“Public investment plans for the next five years need to include projects and programmes important to national development like the North-South Expressway, coastal roads and digitising the economy.”

Work to allow large ships to enter the Hậu River, a tributary of the Mekong, and developing logistics and waterways across southern Việt Nam are also priorities, he added.

Besides, the Government will also consider other projects to boost inter-provincial connectivity, with each province being supported on a significant project that will improve linkages with others.

The government is keen on providing funding for climate change mitigation works, including sea dykes.

The delta region faces existential problems such as rising sea levels, coastal and riverine erosion, pollution, ecological imbalance, land subsidence, and flooding in urban areas.

Experts have called for an emergency response to climate change in the integrated regional plan warning that rising seas, coastal erosion and subsidence could occur earlier than previously assumed.

A comprehensive scientific assessment of all the factors that could affect the development of the region is also imperative, they said.

Studies show 40 per cent of the delta could be underwater by 2100 and half of its population could be affected, they said.

Some areas along the coast are already eroding at a rate of more than 30 metres a year. 

The regional plan for 2025 should aim to reduce the negative impacts caused by upstream activities and take strong measures to end the overexploitation of sand and groundwater, the experts said.

An integrated regional plan for improving infrastructure to attract investment and tackle climate change holds the key to achieving “inclusive growth and sustainable development”, they said.

Large-scale concentrated agricultural areas have been created for key items like shrimp, pangasius, rice, and fruits. Processing technologies have also been improved, helping create value chains for agricultural products.

Rice, including world-famous varieties such as ST24 — crowned the best variety in the world at the 2019 Rice Trader World Rice Conference in the Philippines – is grown on 4.19 million hectares in the delta or 54.3 per cent of the country’s total.

The region has more than 335,400 hectares of orchards (36.3 per cent), with the major fruits being mango, orange, pomelo, rambutan, longan, durian, pineapple, and dragon fruit. – VNS

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30404012

Kim calls for communication, unity with China against ‘hostile forces’ all-round challenges’

Mar 23. 2021Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un prior to their summit talks in Pyongyang on June 20, 2019, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA-Yonhap)

By The Korea Herald/ANN

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for stronger strategic communication and unity with China to address “hostile forces” in a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, state media said Tuesday.

Kim sent the message “to notify the accounts of the 8th Congress of the WPK, as required by the times that call for intensifying the strategic communication between the two parties on the basis of deep comradeship,” the Korean Central News Agency said, without mentioning when the message was sent. WPK is the Workers’ Party of Korea.

“It stressed the need to strengthen the unity and cooperation between the two parties and two countries to cope with the hostile forces’ all-round challenges and obstructive moves,” KCNA added.

Kim described in detail the measures that North Korea took during the party congress in January, including “policy stand on the bolstering of defense capabilities of the country, the inter-Korean relations and the DPRK-US relations.

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim also expressed belief that cooperation between North Korea and China will get stronger “as required by the times and in conformity with the desires, wishes and core interests” of the two countries, KCNA said.

KCNA said that Xi also stressed that the traditional China-North Korea friendship is a “valuable asset” both to the two countries and vowed to make “positive contributions” to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula in his verbal message to leader Kim.

“Saying that the international and regional situations are undergoing grave changes, he expressed his willingness to make new positive contributions to defending peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and achieving peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region,” he added, according to KCNA.

The latest exchange of messages appears aimed at strengthening relations between the allies amid Beijing’s deepening rivalry with the United States and stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. (Yonhap)

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30403979

Lamborghini bullish on China performance

Mar 22. 2021Stephan Winkelmann, president and CEO of Lamborghini, inspects Huracan STO supercars at its plant in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy. [Photo provided to China Daily]

By LI FUSHENG
China Daily/ANN

Despite a 70-day lull in production because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italian supercar maker Lamborghini achieved its second-best year in terms of sales and the best-ever year in terms of profitability in 2020.

It delivered 7,430 vehicles, down from 8,205 in 2019, generating a turnover of 1.61 billion euros ($1.92 billion).

The United States ranked first globally again, with 2,224 sold; Germany followed with 607; and the Chinese mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macao came in a close third with 604.

“But this year, and this is something we are already seeing, the China market will be No 2 for us in terms of sales,” said President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann in an exclusive interview with China Daily last week.

He said, by the end of last year, Lamborghini had received orders to cover the first nine months of production in 2021, and China is outperforming the average of the other markets.

Three new models are to be launched or hit the market this year. The first is the V10 Huracan Super Trofeo Omologato, which is scheduled to hit the market by the middle of this year.

Two new V12-engined cars will be announced in the second half of this year.

“So, we will easily have a better year in 2021 than the previous two years,” Winkelmann said. “China is increasingly important for the future success of Lamborghini.”

He gave the example of the Urus SUV, its most popular model. Lamborghini did an analysis of its opportunities in China and that proved to be one of the reasons why it decided to invest in the segment.

Despite its growth potential in China, the United States will remain the largest market for the brand in the foreseeable future.

This is because of a combination of elements, including a shorter history in China. The brand did not make its way into the Chinese market until 2005.

He said, thanks to the internet and social media, people can get to know a brand much faster than before. But it will be one of the company’s priorities to explain the brand better in the countries where it is newer.

“A Lamborghini is more than just an engine with a nice body and beautiful design. It is a car with cutting-edge technology that delivers ultimate value.

“If we make this connection for customers, then the customers we anticipate will rise both in terms of knowledge about the brand and also in terms of age,” Winkelmann said.

Statistics show that the average age of Lamborghini owners in China is 37 the average age of Urus owners in China is 37, younger than those in the United States and European countries.

“Wherever there is more history with the brand, the wider the customer base seems to be and the more diverse customers are,” Winkelmann said.

But he said it is a perfect thing to have young customers because the young generation represents the future.

“Lamborghini needs to continue to be trendsetters, to be a brand that is always looking to the future. Not as a brand that is just fashionable, as fashion goes out of style soon.

“Now, what we have to do is retain those customers as they evolve through life. In my opinion, this is key and this is something we have to work especially hard on in countries like China where our brand has a relatively fresher history,” Winkelmann said.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30403978

[Japan] Line’s parent firm to examine personal info breach

Mar 22. 2021The LINE logo is seen at its operator’s head office in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, in May 2017. (Yomiuri Shimbun file photo)

By The Japan News/ANN

The first meeting of a third-party panel to investigate why engineers at a Chinese affiliate were able to access the personal information of LINE messaging app users will be held on Tuesday, LINE Corp. parent company Z Holdings Corp. has announced.

Having garnered 86 million users in Japan, the popular messaging app is also used widely by government agencies and companies, creating an urgent impetus for the provider to diagnose vulnerabilities that lead to the breach and make countermeasures to prevent a recurrence.

The third-party panel will be composed primarily of university professors and lawyers with expertise in the protection of personal information.

According to sources, Z Holdings was informed of issues with the app’s handling of personal information in late January, before merging with LINE Corp. earlier this month. Z Holdings made inquiries with the operator, which revealed that the personal information of Japanese users had been left accessible for a period of nearly 2½ years to a Chinese company that had been entrusted with development work.

Noboru Nakatani, Z Holdings’ group chief trust and safety officer, attended a subcommittee meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Friday to account for the issue. “The Chinese company was able to view [the personal information of LINE users],” Nakatani told reporters after the meeting. “It was inappropriate.”

Other tech companies have questioned LINE’s loose personal information protocols, given how firms such as Rakuten Inc., for example, have a policy of securing users’ personal information before granting access to contractors at overseas subsidiaries.

“Global companies are more and more cautious when it comes to handling personal information,” said an executive at another major tech company. “I’m baffled as to why [LINE] would fail to take thorough precautions.”

The LINE app has become an essential tool in Japan’s social fabric, relied on by individuals and corporations alike.

TEPCO Energy Partners Inc. and Tokyo Gas Co. have introduced services by which customers can check their bills using the app. SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. also offers a service that lets customers view their account balances via LINE.

Yet a number of companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., have enacted blanket bans that prohibit employees from using the app for work.

Now that some central government offices have already decided or are mulling whether to cease providing administrative services over LINE, many other companies may soon feel pressure to follow suit and reexamine their approach to the app.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/ann/30403977

[Vietnam] Officials discuss implementation of ‘vaccine passport’

Mar 22. 2021Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (centre), chairs the meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

By Viet Nam News/ANN

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on Friday chaired a meeting on COVID-19 ‘vaccine passports’.

At the meeting, representatives of the Tourism Advisory Council agreed with the guidelines of the steering committee and the Ministry of Health (MoH) on the issuance of ‘vaccine passports’.

The steering committee listened to reports and opinions from the ministries of information and communications, foreign affairs, health, public security and national defence on infrastructure, research, policies and specific instructions to implement ‘vaccine passports’ when possible, while ensuring safety.

For citizens, immunisation information will be integrated into the electronic health record system. Experts believe this is the most convenient way for people to registers their vaccinations, while controlling travel and movement amid the pandemic.

Minister of Health Nguyễn Thanh Long said that when getting vaccinated, people have to download the electronic records application and re-declare necessary information. Medical facilities will scan QR-codes instead of filling in paperwork. People can then be screened, vaccinated and monitored after vaccination.

After receiving the vaccination, people will receive a certificate and a QR code. The management agency captures information and data to implement the COVID-19 vaccination programme and is provided with a tool to monitor information of those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

For foreigners and representatives of ministries, major mobile carriers said that infrastructure will be completed and deployed next month.

The system will take into account the most complex cases and will be ready to be deployed immediately after specific policies on vaccine passports are issued.

Regarding specific policies and guidelines, the MoH is continuing to work with foreign health agencies so that Việt Nam can soon participate in the international community’s joint efforts to facilitate trade and travel for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in other countries.

The MoH said that in Hải Dương Province, in the last 12 days, only one or two new cases were recorded per day, are all were quarantined.

The Ministry of Health is reviewing the quarantine work in Hải Dương Province and at the same time directing the province to pay attention to improving testing quality.

The Deputy PM asked ministries and localities to continue strengthening leadership and promoting a sense of responsibility as the virus still poses significant risks.

Local leaders must focus on proactively deciding appropriate anti-pandemic measures and take responsibility for prevention and control in their respective localities, limit negative impacts on economic, social activities and people’s lives.

It is necessary to be proactive in a new normal state, both in economic development and ready to prevent the pandemic in all sectors, fields and in all agencies, units, organisations and the community.

Data from the National Immunisation Programme said that as of 4pm on March 18, Việt Nam had given the AstraZeneca vaccine to 27,546 people.

All vaccination sites comply with the MoH’s regulations on ensuring safety. The post-injection response rate is at a permitted level according to the vaccine manufacturer’s recommendation. — VNS