High school students get vaccinated against COVID-19. (Photo: VNA)

Phan Trong Lan, Director of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said the first is that the virulence of the Omicron variant will gradually ease while the immunity obtained thanks to vaccinations and infections will help bring down numbers of new and severe cases, and fatalities.

In that case, Vietnam can move to a new normal situation where COVID-19 becomes endemic, Lan said, adding that if all people are aware of the risks and take anti-pandemic measures well, life will go back to normal, and focus will be put on the elderly and those with disabilities.

In the second scenario, the SARS-CoV-2 virus will evolve and a new dangerous variant will emerge and dominate. This variant might evade protection from vaccines, leading to more cases and eventually more severe cases. In that scenario, the past prevention protocols will be reused.