The Preventive Health Department will once again allow the sale of the British-made vaccine Priorix, which was pulled from pharmacy shelves last May after concerns it may have been involved in the death of a child in Ho Chi Minh City last May.
After being inoculated with the vaccine, the child and five others were rushed to a medical facility in Ho Chi Minh City with serious symptoms. Following the child’s death an immediate ban was placed on the drug until investigators could determine the cause of death.
According to Dr. Le Van Phung, Head of the National Quality Control Department, thorough investigations were then carried out on the vaccine in both foreign and domestic laboratories which ultimately determined that it was not a factor in the children’s illnesses.
The deadly bacterium Staphylococcus Aureus was later found to be the cause.
The vaccine’s reinstatement on pharmacy shelves is effective immediately. The vaccine has been used for years to prevent measles, mumps and the rubella.
