Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine, had talked with Sai Gon Giai Phong reporters about the inoculation drive and post-vaccine reactions.
The Ministry of Health has asked local administrations reporting post -vaccination reactions to set up a professional council to evaluate the causes and their reports will soon be available.
Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine (Photo: SGGP)
However, health workers have had preparation for such incidents. Dr. Phu asserted that post-vaccination reactions like muscle pain, headaches, diarrhea, fever are expected and happen with all vaccines including the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine; therefore, people should not worry too much. But in general, the rate of post-injection reaction observed in Vietnam is within the recommendations from the manufacturer as well as those of the World Health Organization.
For the question why many countries in the world paused vaccination drive over safety concern, Dr. Phu said that according to the World Health Organization, there is no evidence that the incidents are caused by the vaccine and it is important that vaccination campaigns continue so that we can save lives and stem severe disease from the virus. Yet, he said it is a sensible issue that Vietnam should keep close watch on reaction of EU medical authorities as well as scientific research before arriving at final conclusion.
The Government decided to choose the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine because the vaccine has been certified by the WHO and the Administration of Food and Drug in the US and in Europe allowed the use of the vaccine. So far, roughly 50 nations ordered to buy the vaccine. Simultaneously, Vietnam will purchase both the US Pfizer vaccine and Russian Sputnik V vaccine which are certified and available in several countries.
