A group of leading Vietnamese-American health professionals living in the US has joined hands with people in the homeland to seek better treatment of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam.

Participants at the Health Talk on August 30. Photo: Minh Vu

The online workshop on “Practical experience in treating Covid-19 patients in the US – Establishing remote consultations among doctors for F0 treatment in Dong Nai and Tien Giang” held by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA), Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on August 30.

Speakers include Dr. Doan Dao Vien, Riverside Community Hospital, University of California, director of the Good Samaritan Medical Dental Ministry (GSMDM); Dr. Le Tran Hoang, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, California; Dr. Ly Thanh Luong, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, Dr. Huynh Khai Tinh, the US Army.

The health professors shared experience in treating Covid-19 patients in the event hosted by Danny Vo, Vietnamese-Singaporean, Vice President of the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese (BAOOV).

This is the third Health Talk that connect overseas Vietnamese with domestic colleagues for the same mission.

Statistics by Dr. Luong (Mike) showed that the number of infections and deaths in the US plunged two to three months after the vaccination campaign started in December 2020. However, the figures surged again due to the Delta variant (found in 85% of global patients currently) and detected among 95% of unvaccinated people.

For that reason, Dr. Luong emphasized the role of vaccination.

He shared that more than 85% of Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic and will recover after eighg to 10 days. Therefore, it’s no need to quarantine people after 10 days of first symptoms or take PCR test. In addition, 15% of the cases turn to critical and around 3% of them died of the virus.

As the virus spread widely in an enclosed room, Luong said keeping the space open is very important to prevent infection.

In terms of testing, he reminded others of the low accuracy of antigen tests, noting that the accuracy also depends on people taking samples.

Dr. Dao Vien said it’s important to take a good care of confirmed cases (F0) in the first days of being infected to prevent them from turning to critical condition.

He gave some tips to treating F0 at home with special care given to vulnerable groups, including the elderly aged above 65 and those with underlying diseases.

Notably, the doctor reminded health workers of mental diseases patients to give them psychological therapy timely if needed.

Meanwhile, Dr. Huynh Khai Tinh shared experiences on classifying patients, noting that it’s the first and most important to provide them with proper treatment.

Dr. Le Tran Hoang, on the other hand, talked about treating patients on the critical list, especially intensive care unit.

In conclusion, the health professors stressed the importance of keeping health workers safe to serve the long-term battle in Vietnam and the role of TeleHealth amid the rising infections and overloaded medical facilities.

Dr. Vien recommended to provide GSMDM’s remote consultation to F0 in Vietnam. He also suggested setting up a non-profit organization totally supported by overseas Vietnamese to support people in Vietnam.

Vietnam is grappling with the fresh outbreak that has spread 62 out of 63 cities and provinces, caused more than 435,000 infections, including 10,749 deaths.

It’s calling for assistance from foreign countries and overseas Vietnamese worldwide to cope with the pandemic.