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Tet holiday healthcare Vietnam: what clinics stay open

Tet holiday healthcare Vietnam works like this: hospital emergency rooms stay on duty day and night, while many routine clinics and some pharmacies slow down or close. The 2025 break runs from 25 January to 2 February, so plan your medicines, your checkups and your emergency steps before it starts.

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The 2025 Tet dates

In late November 2024 the Prime Minister signed off on a break of nine days in a row for Tet. It runs from Saturday 25 January to Sunday 2 February 2025. The official public holiday itself is Monday 27 January to Friday 31 January. The two weekends on either side make up the rest.

Lunar New Year's Day falls on 29 January, in the middle of that stretch. Expect the quietest days to be the first few days of the new year, when many families travel and many small businesses shut.

Private employers can set their own schedules based on their needs, so a clinic may open on days when a government office is closed, or the other way round. Do not guess. Ask.

Sources: Viet Nam News, PM approves proposal for 9-day continuous Tet holiday in 2025, 27 November 2024; The Star, Vietnamese PM approves proposal for nine-day continuous Tet holiday in 2025, 28 November 2024.

Hospital emergency rooms

Emergency departments are the part of the system that does not take a holiday. A health law journal reported on 16 January 2025 that the Ministry of Health asked provinces and cities to assign tasks, staff and vehicles so that duty forces are ready around the clock during Tet. The ministry cited Directive 01/CT-BYT of 2025 as part of its basis.

This is not new. In earlier years, Ho Chi Minh City health officials told all hospitals not to refuse emergency aid during Tet. The city's emergency centre and its satellite stations were reported ready, and some hospitals opened satellite clinics to ease crowding. In 2019 the ministry told hospitals to stay open 24 hours a day, with enough staff, medicines and equipment to handle emergencies such as traffic injuries, food poisoning and childbirth.

Plan on emergency rooms for urgent problems only. Waits can be long when everything else is shut.

Sources: LSVN, Ministry of Health requests for Tet 2025 duty, 16 January 2025; VietnamPlus, HCM City hospitals open for Tet, 13 February 2018; VietnamPlus, Ministry of Health asks hospitals to prepare for Tet, 23 January 2019.

Routine clinics and checkups

A hospital emergency room and a family clinic are not the same thing. Directives on Tet duty are aimed at hospitals and health departments. A small private clinic is run by its owner and follows its own calendar, and many close for several days. Some reopen part time after the first days.

Book routine visits, repeat blood tests, vaccines and dental or eye checkups for before 24 January or after 2 February. If you are unwell with something that is not an emergency, phone the clinic first. Ask three things: are you open, until what time, and who covers urgent cases when you are shut?

Many clinics post a holiday notice on their website or social page a week or two before Tet. Check there, and keep a screenshot on your phone.

Sources: LSVN, Ministry of Health requests for Tet 2025 duty, 16 January 2025.

Medicines and pharmacies

Officials usually ask for medicine supply to be protected over Tet. In an earlier year health departments were told to keep officials on duty around the clock to watch the medicine supply. Drug stores were asked to strengthen their sources and plan for demand. That is a request, not a promise that your nearest shop will be open on 29 January.

A simple step helps. Count what you take regularly, and refill it before the break. Do the same for children's medicines and anything for a long term condition. Keep tablets in their original packs with the label, and carry a note of the generic drug name in case you need to ask a doctor or pharmacist for a match.

Do not buy large amounts of medicines you do not use. A few days of cover is the goal, not a stockpile.

Sources: Viet Nam News, Drug administration seeks to ensure medicine supply during Tet, 16 January 2022.

Emergency numbers and first steps

Save these before the break. Call 115 for an ambulance and first aid, 114 for fire and rescue, and 113 for police. These lines run separately, so a call to police will not bring an ambulance. Numbers can change, so check them again before you travel.

When you call, say your exact address in Vietnamese if you can. A written address on your phone helps a neighbour or a taxi driver. Know which hospital is nearest your home, and how you would get there if traffic is heavy or your driver is away.

Tet brings its own risks. In 2019 the ministry told hospitals to be ready for traffic injuries and food poisoning, and reported that alcohol was the leading cause of traffic deaths in the previous Tet. Take simple care: do not drive after drinking, and keep cooked food cold or hot, not warm.

This is general information, not medical advice. For your own case, ask a doctor or call the emergency number.

Sources: Wikipedia, Telephone numbers in Vietnam; VietnamPlus, Ministry of Health asks hospitals to prepare for Tet, 23 January 2019.

A simple Tet checklist

  • Refill regular medicines before 24 January.
  • Book routine visits for before the break or after 2 February.
  • Phone your clinic and ask about holiday hours and urgent cover.
  • Save 115, and your address, on your phone.
  • Note the nearest hospital with an emergency room.
  • Keep your insurance card and passport copy in one place.

Our guides and frequently asked questions cover more on living well in Vietnam.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources. Our method.