The Ministry of Health receives an additional 500,000 doses of measles vaccine, expanding the target group for vaccination.

Given the World Health Organization's warning of a potential measles outbreak in Vietnam and the actual situation of the disease in various localities, vaccination has been identified as the most effective proactive measure for disease prevention.

In late 2024 and early 2025, the Ministry of Health organized two measles vaccination campaigns: the 2024 campaign, which achieved a 97.1% vaccination rate, and the first phase of the 2025 campaign, which achieved a 95.5% rate. The initial target group was children aged 1 to 10 years and high-risk groups, later expanding to include children aged 6 to 9 months in high-risk areas and areas experiencing measles outbreaks.

On March 15, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 23/CĐ-TTg on accelerating measles vaccination. Following the Prime Minister's directive, the Ministry of Health issued a plan to implement the second phase of the 2025 campaign, achieving a 96.4% vaccination rate. This included continued vaccination for children aged 6 to 9 months and children aged 1 to 10 years.

Following the implementation of measles vaccination campaigns, compared to the first three months of 2025, the measles incidence rate began to decrease (6%) in the 1-10 year old age group (accounting for 61.4%); a slight decrease (0.4%) in the under-1 year old group (accounting for 2.7%, including children under 6 months old who were not indicated for measles vaccination), however, it increased by 6.4% in the over-10 year old age group (accounting for 35.9%, mainly the 11-15 year old group accounting for 19.2% and the over-16 year old group accounting for 16.7%).

To continue implementing the measles vaccination campaign for target groups and quickly control the epidemic, based on the proposed vaccine needs and the scope of the measles vaccination campaign in provinces and cities, the Ministry of Health has urgently developed and issued Decision No. 1340/QD-BYT dated April 21, 2025, on the plan for implementing the measles vaccination campaign in 2025, phase 3.

The vaccines used in this vaccination campaign are 500,000 doses of measles-containing vaccine donated by FPT Group. The Ministry of Health anticipates that the first phase of vaccine distribution will be completed before April 30, 2025, and the second phase before May 15, 2025. The Ministry of Health will immediately allocate the vaccines to localities to ensure timely implementation of the vaccination campaign.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, Deputy Minister of Health, stated that the goal of the 2025 measles vaccination campaign (phase 3) is to ensure that 95% of eligible children who have not been vaccinated or have not received all doses of the measles-containing vaccine receive one dose of the measles-containing vaccine.

The target groups for the plan are: children aged 6 months who are not yet due for vaccination in the first and second vaccination campaigns of 2025; children aged 6 months to under 9 months who have not been vaccinated in the first and second vaccination campaigns of 2025 in high-risk areas or areas with measles outbreaks; children aged 11 to 15 in high-risk/very high-risk communes/wards who have not been vaccinated or have not received all doses of measles-containing vaccines; and children with unknown vaccination history or history of measles.

Comment (0)