The matter was raised at yesterday’s meeting chaired by Vice Chairwoman of HCMC People's Committee Tran Thi Dieu Thuy. The virtual meeting discussed measles prevention in the city with the participation of representatives of people's committees of 21 districts and Thu Duc City.
At the meeting, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control Dr. Le Hong Nga reported that the city has documented 1,079 cases of measles since the start of the year, resulting in four fatalities. It's definitely worth vaccinating a baby early — as early as six months — if the risk of measles is increased. The disease has affected individuals across all age groups, with the highest incidence observed among children aged 1 to 5 years. Alarmingly, there have also been reported cases of measles among secondary school students and adults over the age of 18.
The city has now administered a total of 219,850 doses in the measles vaccination campaign. Of these, 46,132 doses were given to children aged 1-5 achieving 100 percent and 147,216 doses were given to children aged 6-10 (99.9 percent). Some 26,502 doses were given to other groups such as children in risk groups, disabled people, and health workers.
In addition, 95.97 percent of schools have completed the vaccination of their children.
It is concerning that certain districts have reported vaccination rates exceeding 100 percent, yet the incidence of measles continues to rise. Data from the HCDC indicates that approximately 17 percent of the children surveyed reside in Ho Chi Minh City, although their registered addresses are in different provinces.
As a result, local health stations were unaware of these children and did not ask parents to take their children to medical stations for vaccination. Consequently, Dr. Le Hong Nga suggests that the true measles vaccination coverage may fall short of the 95 percent target.
According to Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, from August 31 to now, the city health sector together with departments and localities have made efforts to implement the measles vaccination campaign, aiming to reduce the possibility of a large outbreak.
However, the initial estimate of the list of children was not accurate, and there were still children who had not been got vaccines. The Department of Health has sent a document requesting the Ministry of Health to guide the appointment of measles vaccination for children from 6 months to under 9 months old.
At the same time, the health sector also proposed the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to give the green light that more people are eligible for measles vaccination.
Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Tran Thi Dieu Thuy, noted that despite a vaccination rate exceeding 95 percent, the decrease in cases has been slow.
Additionally, some children in the area have not been updated in the system. Consequently, the steering committee for measles prevention in districts and towns must review and rectify their efforts to ensure effective epidemic prevention.
Vice Chairwoman Tran Thi Dieu Thuy urged the Department of Health to issue an official document for the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to request the Ministry of Health to guide the implementation of measles vaccination for children from 6 to under 9 months old while reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of the community health collaborator network
Meanwhile, the City Police Department issued a document directing to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination in the locality, especially in neighborhoods and residential areas to update and review the residential group. Communications should be enhanced to encourage parents to take their children to get vaccinated against measles.
