The response of Italy and Vietnam to the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis of two international experiences with the first wave of the disease

Several studies on the fight against COVID-19 have been developed in various countries. However, there are few studies that compare cases corresponding to the first wave of the epidemic in a close period and with different responses and outcomes. Therefore, an integrative review was conducted to analyze the experiences of Italy and Vietnam in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic during the first wave of the disease, seeking to identify the contributions of the health and surveillance systems as well as the specificities of the measures adopted in each country. Common databases were used and the empirical material related to publications was supplemented with documents from the official websites of both countries. The results of this study show that Vietnam and Italy adopted different strategies to deal with COVID-19, containment and mitigation, respectively, with specific measures that made a difference in the number of cases and deaths in each country.