258,000 more doses of 5-in-1 vaccine for free expanded immunization for children

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, leaders of units under the Ministry of Health, representatives of sponsors and representatives of mountainous provinces receiving vaccines at the ceremony.

At the ceremony, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan sincerely thanked Sacombank for always accompanying the Ministry of Health to join hands in taking care of people's health in general, and mothers and children in particular.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that 185,700 doses of 5-in-1 vaccine donated to Vietnam by WHO and UNICEF have arrived in Hanoi. These vaccines will be tested and then distributed to localities to serve the expanded immunization program for children.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, the expanded immunization program implemented in our country for many years has contributed to controlling and eliminating infectious diseases, preventing them from returning. In the expanded immunization program, Vietnam has produced 9 types of vaccines, while the remaining 2 types are imported.

“However, in the past, due to the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a disruption in supply and the policy on budget decentralization, there was a transition period, so there was a delay in the supply of imported vaccines,” said the Deputy Minister of Health.

According to Resolution 98/NQ-CP on the allocation of the central budget in 2023 for the Ministry of Health to purchase vaccines for the Government's Expanded Immunization Program, the Central Government purchases vaccines and allocates them to localities. In the recent past, in order to promptly meet the demand for 5-in-1 vaccines to implement vaccination for children under 1 year old to prevent infectious diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and pneumonia/meningitis caused by Hib, the Ministry of Health has proactively discussed with international organizations WHO, UNICEF as well as related domestic units and has received enthusiastic support from Sacombank, WHO, UNICEF.

“This vaccine has been licensed for circulation in Vietnam, licensed for import, and inspected to ensure quality and safety. The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has issued instructions on receiving, transporting, preserving, using... and organized training for localities. Immediately after the vaccine is distributed and transported to the locality, the provinces need to immediately vaccinate children,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong suggested.

The Deputy Minister of Health assigned the Department of Preventive Medicine and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to continue supporting localities in the expanded immunization work to ensure safe vaccination; at the same time, he affirmed that the Ministry of Health always accompanies localities to remove difficulties in the expanded immunization work.

Ms. Le Thi Hong Van, Director of Yen Bai Department of Health, representing 14 localities receiving the 5-in-1 vaccine, received a symbolic plaque from the sponsor.

As one of 14 localities receiving the 5-in-1 vaccine this time, Mr. Tran Hau Kien, Director of Lai Chau Center for Disease Control, said that as a disadvantaged locality, Lai Chau has 20 ethnic groups living there, with over 10,000 children under 1 year old needing vaccinations to prevent and fight the epidemic. Mr. Kien said that this vaccine source has arrived in time for the provinces to immediately vaccinate children.

At the reception ceremony, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Duong Thi Hong said that the 5-in-1 vaccine sponsored by Sacombank is the SII vaccine - which has been used in the expanded immunization program for many years.

“Tomorrow, specialized vehicles will transport vaccines to localities that have difficulty accessing vaccination services to vaccinate children from the beginning of August 2023. In addition, localities need to proactively review children under 2 months old who have not been vaccinated or have not received enough doses of vaccines containing diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Hib, to organize catch-up vaccinations for them. At the same time, priority will be given to children who have not received the first dose of DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine, and the younger the child, the more priority they need to be given to vaccination,” the Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology emphasized.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper