INTRODUCTION:
The Government, the National Steering Committee, and the Ministry of Health are key agencies that play important roles in decision-making, leadership, coordination, and operations throughout the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. Through a comprehensive system of issued documents, these agencies demonstrated their concerns and provided directions to relevant ministries, departments, and sectors at all levels.

METHODS:
Collecting and analyzing these documents allows lessons to be learned from both successes and failures across all four phases of the pandemic. A comparative analytical approach was applied, aligning the content of the documents with the basic public health functions - a theoretical framework developed by World Health Organization experts based on fundamental principles and endorsed by United Nations member states. Vietnam is one of these consensus countries. This theoretical framework is standardized within each participating country prior to promulgation. In Vietnam, this process was completed in 2001 with approval from the Ministry of Health.

RESULTS:
Research conducted during this pandemic enabled the team to make initial observations on how these basic public health functions were applied in a real and specific context. The findings demonstrate objectively that public health functions were understood and implemented differently across epidemic waves and in emergency response situations throughout the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS:
The lessons learned from this analysis may serve as recommendations to support the development of more comprehensive, resilient, and proactive preparedness and response plans for future public health emergencies in Vietnam and comparable settings.