The Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health October 7 confirmed no shortage of serviced vaccine and denied news about running out of vaccine in some localities.
Several days ago some media said that many parents had to queuing in nights for the six-in-one vaccine but they went back in disappointment and they had switched to self- pay vaccinations which were also over.
Do Van Dong, deputy head of the Drug Administration of Vietnam said that made-in-Korea five-in-one Quinvaxem vaccine is being currently used for free-of-charge immunization campaign approved by the Prime Minister.
Meantime, six-in-one Infanrix Hexa vaccine which parents have to pay for has been imported and distributed to all medical clinics nationwide without stopping.
Since July, hundreds of five-in-one and six-in-one vaccines have been so far imported into Vietnam.
For instance, over 70, 000 dozes of five-in-one vaccine and 205,430 dozes of six-in-one vaccine have been imported into Vietnam. All batches of vaccine have been tested by the National Institute of Drug Quality and distributed to all medical facilities.
At present, the warehouses of importers have stockpiled more than 140,000 dozes of five-in-one and six-in-one vaccines.
Mr. Dong said that it took a long time to produce vaccines but their expiration date was short and preservation condition was very strict meanwhile there were very few manufacturers of vaccines that meet international standards of quality established by WHO.
It needs a time for the manufacturers to calculate orders and set production plans, so distributors and importers should set up orders early to ensure the continuous supply, he said.
The shortage of vaccine has been solved and if any medical facility announced a shortage of vaccine, it is its fault in calculating demand and orders, he added.
Moreover, no medical units complained that the distributors refused to supply vaccine because the health authorities have issued harsh penalties on companies who were found hoarding drugs for profits.
