The experience of being an expatriate during the entire Covid-19 pandemic has been a de facto observational study in anthropology. Which countries do what? Why? Under what pretenses? To what extent are the decisions made political? Wait - why don't they want vaccines?
Then there are questions specific to Vietnam: When can we leave and be allowed to come back? Wait - quarantine is how long now? At the army barracks? Well are there any quarantine hotel rooms available? How much!? What if I'm vaccinated - with documentation? Do I have to wear a mask while exercising outside in 105 degree jungle heat? Can I exercise outside? What restaurants are closed now? Who still delivers? Wait, my job wants me to sign what?
Vietnam's Covid-19 Journey
In Vietnam, pandemic behavior is often oddly relaxed with stretches of confusion, miscommunication, fear, and ineptitude mixed in. As is ever the case living in Ho Chi Minh City, life can be chaotic, and the Covid doesn't help.
One day, the government directs everyone to stay in their homes. The next day - sometimes the same day - it hosts a super-spreader event. Right.
At least lockdown has helped a bit with air pollution...
We've been stuck in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic for about a year-and-a-half now. For most of this period - especially early-on - Vietnam has been in good shape. For the most part, we haven't been able to go anywhere outside Vietnam (without risking job forfeiture), but we were mostly safe from infection.
Until Summer 2021.
Vietnam's several degrees of Covid-19 prevention and control are outlined in numbered 'directives' - see a side-by-side infographic on the key differences among Directives 15, 16, and 19 here. See the side-by-side on Directives 15, 16, and 10 here, and see the chart in this section for the English version.
We've been living under either Directive 15 or Directive 19 for most of the pandemic. No big deal. Directive 10 came into effect in late May-early June 2021 - we were still able to go outside, exercise, walk dogs, etc. under D10. Still not a huge deal.
On July 9, 2021, with precious little notice, we entered Directive 16, which is a full-on lockdown, and since July 16 (no known connection between date and directive number), there are pop-up tents marking entire streets that have been blocked off. Although we felt comfortable going for groceries from the 9th to the 15th - the one activity permitted during D16 - we're not super-excited about going for groceries during what we understand to be a much stricter enforcement period since the 16th.
Fear not: Vietnam will still be Vietnam.
One man jumped in the river to avoid the penalty for exercising outside during the lockdown.
A man on death row escaped prison during D16. Oh, he has Covid. Apparently, as posted on the facebook page of Vietnam Insider, the police giftwrapped him to prevent him from spreading his spores around. For sure thanks, Vietnam.
Vaccination (and the Question of U.S. Federal Assistance)
Vietnam largely missed the first vaccination boat and is now scrambling to catch up while simultaneously fighting Delta variant outbreaks. As of the publication of this article, Ho Chi Minh City continues to struggle through its first wave of serious outbreaks. There is a smidge of sunshine in this forecast: the outbreak has finally redirected some vaccine doses to HCMC.
Attention American expats: If (in the unlikely event that) you don't already know, the United States Federal government hasn't even tried to create the appearance that it cares about its citizens abroad. In her June 7, 2021 Washington Post article, Claire Parker describes the Federal government's disregard for its citizens overseas. She cites White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who shares the administration's callous view on expat vaccination: "We have not historically provided private health care for Americans living overseas, so that remains our policy." This is the policy at the same time that the U.S. Department of State purports on its own site that it "has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas."
Is that right?
Pray tell, Ms Psaki, when - historically - has the U.S. government provided private health care for Americans not living overseas? Or anyone at all? What's the policy on that? Oh, right - let the working poor fend for themselves while the rich and powerful suffocate their ability to vote in hyper-politicized committees and state legislatures. Anyone who dies dies, and the oligarchs grow ever-richer as they capitalize on the modest socio-economic status of the many. Sorry, forgot the policy there for a second. My mistake. Won't happen again. Way to let freedom ring.
But I digress.
This isn't a private health care question, United States. It's a public health emergency.
If you'd like to talk history, Ms Psaki, let's do that. Let's talk about mass polio vaccinations, including vaccinations of children at school, in the United States in the 1950s. It wasn't 'private health care.' It was a simple issue of public health, and it was the right thing to do, but imagine the red-vote outrage today if children were given vaccines at school. Why are so many people against the most beneficial technological innovation in human history? Nothing saves more lives than vaccination. Into what searing neo-con hell has our society devolved?
Sorry, I digressed again. I'll clean it up.
Donate millions of vaccines to other countries and hang your own citizens out to dry? Not sure that's the way forward - at least get your rhetoric in order. Don't confuse private health care with a public health emergency, and don't bring up history unless you're ready to go to school. By the way, France is vaccinating its expat citizens who live in Vietnam.
Democrats Abroad is attempting to secure vaccinations for American expats. Check out DA's open letter to President Biden here. While it's great that DA is doing what it can - on behalf of voters of all persuasions - what really must happen is for the people in government to actually care about something other than partisanship and reelection. We just don't see that happening, though, which is one of the many reasons we moved abroad in the first place.
As easy as it is to make fun of Vietnam sometimes, Vietnam has provided necessary testing, and we even received our first AstraZeneca jabs in June 2021. We'll see what happens with those second jabs...stay tuned.
Final Word
Observing how Covid plays out here in Vietnam has been fascinating if frustrating. Reading and discussing how it has unfolded back home has been the same. Comparing both with the situations in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Brazil...well, it's worth study.
One particular point of frustration in Vietnam right now is our inability to travel, even within the country as we were able to do in both the north and the south in the summer of 2020. I know - first world problems. Still, we live abroad for a reason. Expats make certain sacrifices for certain benefits, which we know will return eventually.
Our hope right now is that the world has at least a working guide for when this sort of thing happens again. Inshallah politics will play a minimal role if any. We have to be able to do better than this.
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For sure no traditional folk dancing.