A child receives a measles vaccination at a hospital in HCM City on September 2. – Photo by hcmcpv.org.vn

HCM CITY – With the measles vaccination coverage for children in HCM City still being low, it needs to focus on increasing it since there is an outbreak of the dangerous viral disease, a conference heard on September 5.

The conference heard that as of September 4 there had been 541 cases of measles since May 23 and three deaths.

The number of patients is rising quickly, especially children aged between nine months to five years, who have accounted for 48 per cent of the cases.

Some 74 per cent of all cases are children who have not been fully vaccinated.

Bình Chánh and Bình Tân districts have seen the highest number of cases.

The city launched a vaccination campaign five days ago to reduce the risk of fatalities, inoculating children through the National Day holidays.

The vaccination is free.

Over 16,900 children between one and five years of age received the shots, but the number requiring vaccination is around 200,000.

Of the city’s 22 districts, 18 have a vaccination rate of below 50 per cent.

It has been two weeks since the city declared measles the outbreak, but its prevention efforts have not met expectations, Trần Thị Diệu Thúy, deputy chairwoman of its People’s Committee, said.

It has instructed local authorities to strengthen efforts to get children to medical stations for the vaccination.

According to medical officials, since the city’s population is always moving around due to migration and temporary residence, localities need to accurately measure vaccination coverage, even if it means going to every house, especially in areas with a high risk of outbreaks.

They have to regularly update their lists of local children aged one to 10 years to vaccinate them, and keep an eye on children who do not go to school.

The Department of Information and Communication has been tasked with disseminating how to prevent and combat measles.

Relevant authorities need to focus on solutions so that the city could soon declare the end of the outbreak, Thúy added.

Between 2021 to 2023 only one person had reportedly been infected, and none this year until May 22.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can spread rapidly following an incubation period of seven to 21 days.

Medical experts caution that it can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, otitis media, keratitis, diarrhoea, and even death in some cases.

Measles can only be effectively managed when the community immunity rate reaches 95 per cent, and each individual has received two doses of a vaccine. – VNS