Under the plan, the Ministry of Health is expanding vaccination efforts to include children aged 6 months to under 9 months in high-risk areas and regions experiencing measles cases or outbreaks.
Additionally, the vaccination campaign will cover children aged 1 to 10 in high-risk areas and regions with measles cases or outbreaks, as well as at-risk healthcare workers in facilities treating measles patients who have not been fully vaccinated.
According to the Ministry of Health, this step aims to achieve the goal of increasing the rate of measles immunity in the community, proactively preventing epidemics, reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality due to measles in risk areas, areas with measles cases and measles outbreaks.
The Ministry of Health has announced that the determination of the specific age group eligible for vaccination is made by provinces and cities, taking into account the local epidemic development, the availability of vaccines from local funding and resources, and following discussions and agreements with regional institutes of hygiene and epidemiology as well as the Pasteur Institutes.
Regarding measles vaccination for children from 6 months to under 9 months old in 24 provinces and cities, the Ministry urged local health sector to continue to monitor and evaluate the epidemic development and available resources to have a proposal with the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology, and the regional Pasteur Institute about the measles vaccination roll out for this age group.
In the first phase, the Ministry of Health has directed provinces that have not yet completed the campaign to accelerate vaccination efforts for children aged 1 to 10, ensuring timely, safe, and effective immunization.
According to the Ministry of Health’ data, the number of cases of rash fever suspected of measles and measles positive continues to increase in localities. During the recent Lunar New Year holiday alone, about 1,600 cases of rash fever suspected of measles were recorded nationwide. Luckily, no death was reported.
The measles epidemic is showing an increasing trend with many cases being reported in countries around the world, including the Asia-Pacific region. the Philippines and Malaysia have seen a widespread measles pandemic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed Vietnam’s measles outbreak risk as very high. It recommends launching vaccination campaigns in high-risk and outbreak-affected areas. Meanwhile, provinces and cities with low to medium risk should conduct reviews to ensure children who are not fully vaccinated receive their required doses.
Prior, the Ministry of Health approved measles vaccination for children aged 6 to under 9 months. The Ministry of Health has given the green light to measles vaccination for children aged 6 to under 9 months, said the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health on November 7.
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