Nearly half a million doses of vaccine will be allocated for expanded immunization.

Information from the Ministry of Health said that the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health has coordinated with the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to distribute DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia/meningitis caused by Hib bacteria) to serve the need for expanded vaccination.

Accordingly, on December 27, the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology sent a document to the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, and Centers for Disease Control of 63 provinces and cities regarding the allocation of this vaccine.

Nearly half a million doses of vaccine will be distributed for general vaccination, Figure 1 — Expanded immunization is an effective disease prevention measure (illustrative photo - Internet source).

Previously, on December 16, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology received 490,600 doses of DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine sponsored by the Australian Government to Vietnam through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

After the vaccine was received, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology sent samples and inspection request documents to the National Institute for Control of Vaccines and Biologicals for quality inspection before putting it into use according to regulations of the Ministry of Health.

On December 26, the National Institute for Control of Vaccines and Biologicals issued a Certificate of Origin for the above vaccines. Accordingly, these vaccines are eligible for use in the expanded immunization program.

On December 26, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology distributed vaccines according to the plan reported to the Ministry of Health and transported vaccines to the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology/Pasteur in 4 regions including the North, South, Central and Central Highlands.

At the same time, the Institute has directed units to be ready to distribute DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine to provinces/cities, specifically, provinces/cities in the Northern region can receive the vaccine from December 27, and provinces/cities in the remaining regions will be able to receive the vaccine 1-2 days later when the vaccine is transferred to the regional warehouse.

According to the plan, the DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine will be deployed at commune health stations nationwide from the beginning of January 2024. The vaccine will be prioritized for the first injection for children from 2 to 18 months old, then it can be used for the second and third injections for children who have not received all 3 doses of the DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine.

The Ministry of Health requests that the Directors of Health Departments of provinces and cities direct the allocation and organization of DPT-VGB-Hib vaccination in the area for the right subjects, safely and effectively.

Source