In response to a high risk of measles outbreak, HCM City plans to give supplementary measles vaccinations to more than 500,000 children aged one and five years. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Facing a high risk of a measles outbreak, HCM City’s health department plans to give supplementary measles vaccination to more than 500,000 children aged one to five years in the city.

The department has recommended the municipal People's Committee to approve the plan to administer supplementary measles vaccinations to all children aged one to five years, regardless of their prior vaccination status.

If approved, the supplementary measles vaccination will begin in July and give priority to areas at a high risk of measles outbreak. 

The estimated budget for this initiative exceeds VNĐ4.3 billion (US$169 million), allocated from the city Department of Health's 2024 healthcare funding.

Dr. Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh Châu, deputy director of the city’s Department of Health, said as of mid-June, the city had reported three measles outbreaks in Bình Tân, Hóc Môn and Bình Chánh districts.

A community immunity survey conducted by the city’s Centre for Disease Control in collaboration with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and Children's Hospital No1 revealed that only 86 per cent of children aged nine months to under five years in the city have measles antibodies.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), maintaining a 95 per cent vaccination rate for two doses of measles vaccine in children under two years old is crucial for measles elimination.

By using the WHO's risk assessment tool, it was found that the entire city faces a high risk of measles outbreaks.

In response to this alarming situation, health stations throughout the city have focused intensively on catch-up and supplementary measles vaccinations for children lacking complete immunisation.

Local hospitals continue to provide catch-up vaccinations to pediatric patients who were not fully vaccinated against measles before discharge, aiming to bolster protection against the spread of measles. — VNS