A health worker prepares a vaccine for a child. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Children aged two months and older who have not received the first dose of the the 5-in-1 DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) will be given priority for vaccination in the first quarter of 2024.

Children over 12 months old will also receive this vaccine if they have not received the full three doses according to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dương Thị Hồng, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hà Nội, said on December 15, the agency received 490,600 doses of 5-in-1 DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine for regular vaccination in the first months of 2024.

In the first quarter of 2024, catch-up vaccinations and booster shots for children will also be implemented to ensure vaccination safety, especially for some vaccines to prevent diseases in the winter-spring season, such as measles and rubella.

EPI will also continue to enhance monitoring of extended vaccination diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and rotavirus diarrhea.

It is preparing to introduce the oral rotavirus vaccine, a new addition to expanded vaccination, in 33 provinces and cities from the second quarter of 2024, according to Dr Hồng.

Moreover, EPI will continue to review vaccination history, provide catch-up vaccinations for children entering preschool and primary school who have not been vaccinated or have not completed the required doses. This helps narrow the immunity gap in the community.

"To ensure vaccination safety, specialised agencies have requested vaccination centres to increase the number of vaccination sessions if necessary, but not to increase the number of children in one vaccination session," Hồng said.

Healthcare workers must be well-informed about vaccination safety to communicate this information to mothers, enabling them to closely monitor their children after vaccination and promptly address any unexpected situations.

She also noted that since 1994, the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in Việt Nam has achieved 100 per cent coverage in all communes and wards nationwide.

This is a bright spot in the healthcare sector's efforts to ensure health equity for the people. Vaccination has reached all children, from urban to rural areas, border regions, islands, and remote areas.

Việt Nam has eradicated polio since 2000 and neonatal tetanus since 2002.

The country has consistently maintained a measles vaccination rate of over 95 per cent nationwide, effectively controlling measles and moving towards the goal of measles elimination in the future.

In the first 10 months of 2023, the rate of infants under one year old fully vaccinated reached 66.4 per cent. The hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth stood at 70.1 per cent, while the vaccination rates for measles and rubella reached 77.1 per cent and for Japanese encephalitis, it was 68.3 per cent. — VNS