The Ministry of Health yesterday issued an official document to provincial and municipal people’s committees, Pasteur institutes, epidemiology institutes, and affiliated hospitals, calling for stronger measures against polio.
Since 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Vietnam as polio-free and acknowledged its sustained efforts to maintain this achievement. However, the WHO now assesses Vietnam as one of the countries at high risk of polio virus reintroduction.
To strengthen prevention, the Ministry of Health requested local authorities at all levels to coordinate closely with the health sector, particularly in provinces and communes bordering Laos and among travelers returning from outbreak regions.
Border provinces are asked to actively cooperate with their Lao counterparts in sharing information on polio outbreaks and coordinating joint prevention measures.
Provincial health departments must work with Pasteur and epidemiology institutes to conduct risk assessments and develop prevention plans based on findings, reporting results to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for consolidation and submission to the Ministry of Health.
All medical facilities nationwide are required to enhance surveillance and response capacity to promptly handle cases and minimize the risk of outbreaks, especially in border communes and among arrivals from affected countries or regions.
Expanded immunization programs must also be reinforced, with particular attention to maintaining adequate coverage of oral and injectable polio vaccines. Authorities are instructed to urgently review vaccination histories and organize immunization campaigns with IPV and bOPV for individuals who are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated, focusing on high-risk areas.
