HPV cancer vaccine will be given free to children

The vaccine to prevent cervical cancer virus will be given free of charge to children in the expanded immunization program. Among the new vaccines, there are vaccines that cost up to a million VND per dose.

More free vaccines for children

On November 14, the Ministry of Health launched an online quiz to learn about the Expanded Immunization Program in Vietnam.

At the launching ceremony, Master Hoang Hong Mai, Deputy Head of the National Immunization Program Office, said that according to the roadmap approved by the Government , in 2026, the rotavirus vaccine to prevent diarrhea caused by rotavirus will be covered nationwide in the Expanded Immunization Program. This vaccine has been deployed in the Expanded Immunization Program since 2024.

Rotavirus vaccine in expanded immunization program to be deployed nationwide from 2026. PHOTO: BA DOAN

Currently, pneumonia and diarrhea are still the two main causes of death in children under 5 years old in Vietnam. During the period 2016 - 2023, rotavirus was the cause of acute diarrhea in 20% - 50% of young children. It is estimated that rotavirus causes hundreds of thousands of children to be hospitalized and thousands of children to be taken to the emergency room each year, especially in remote areas, localities that do not have access to vaccines in service vaccination.

After the rotavirus vaccine, in 2025 there will be a pneumococcal vaccine (pneumococcus is a very common cause of pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis in children); the HPV vaccine (HPV is a virus that causes cervical cancer in women and some diseases in men) will be included in the national expanded immunization program from 2026.

In 2030, seasonal flu vaccines will also be deployed for free injection in the National Expanded Immunization Program.

Among the new vaccines in the expanded immunization program, there are some vaccines that are expensive compared to the affordability of many families (some cost up to a million VND/injection). Funding for purchasing vaccines comes from the budget and funding sources.

The online quiz to learn about the Expanded Immunization Program in Vietnam will be held from November 14, 2025 to December 10, 2025, spreading the message of safe, timely and complete vaccination. Contestants are Vietnamese citizens living and working in the country, participating in the quiz on the official website: https://cuocthitimhieutcmr.org.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vac-xin-ngua-ung-thu-do-hpv-se-tiem-mien-phi-cho-tre-nho-185251114153032127.htm