Faced with the chaotic and crowded situation at the vaccination site on Luong The Vinh Street (Hanoi) this morning, the Ministry of Health requested a temporary suspension of vaccinations to make a specific plan, add more tables, and schedule appointments for people to bring their children for vaccinations.

Dr. Tran Dac Phu, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, said this afternoon that he has asked the sites that will administer the Pentaxim vaccine on December 25 to stop to avoid chaos. People should not be too worried about running out of vaccine and jostle to get vaccinated, as there is a lot of vaccine this time.

People register to get the Pentaxim 5-in-1 vaccine at the vaccination site on Vinh Hung Street, Hanoi. Photo: TH

On the same day, the Ministry of Health issued an urgent dispatch requesting the directors of the Department of Health of provinces and cities to direct relevant units to make detailed plans to organize Pentaxim vaccination sessions in accordance with the number of vaccines allocated to the unit. At the same time, vaccination points must publicly announce the vaccination plan; expected subjects and vaccination time, paying special attention to organizing scientific registration for people via phone, Internet or other means of communication so that people can easily access and register.

The Ministry of Health also requires units to organize to avoid the phenomenon of large crowds causing difficulties in organizing vaccination sessions and affecting people's waiting psychology. Organize vaccination sessions according to regulations, avoid the situation of not having enough space for people to get vaccinated, in case of necessity, arrange more people to vaccinate. The Ministry strictly prohibits and strictly handles all acts of profiteering from vaccination services such as arbitrarily raising vaccine prices, vaccinating in places that do not meet the prescribed conditions.

It is expected that next week, vaccination sites in Hanoi will start vaccinating children with this vaccine. The vaccination site on Luong The Vinh Street, Hanoi, is one of the first three vaccination sites to organize Pentaxim vaccination. There was chaos when about 500 people jostled to register to vaccinate their children, many of them lined up since the night of December 24. The number of people coming was too large, the number of vaccines was limited, so this unit had to temporarily postpone vaccination, causing dissatisfaction among many parents.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam said that according to the announcement of Sanofi Company, the manufacturer of Pentaxim 5-in-1 vaccine, there will be 200,000 doses provided to the Vietnamese market in the coming time. Specifically, there will be 160,000 doses in December and the remaining 40,000 doses in February 2016. Pentaxim 5-in-1 vaccine prevents diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, purulent meningitis, pneumonia, rhinopharyngitis caused by Hib.

Injection points for Pentaxim 5-in-1 vaccine this time:

In Hanoi:

- SAFPO vaccination room, 135 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung.

- Hanoi Center for Preventive Medicine, 70 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Dong Da.

- Center for Science, Technology and Preventive Medicine Services, 131 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung.

- National Children's Hospital, 18/879 La Thanh, Dong Da.

- Dong Anh District Medical Center.

- International Medical Quarantine Center: International Vaccination Room No. 3 Ong Ich Khiem, Ba Dinh and Vaccination Center 35 Tran Binh, Mai Dich, Cau Giay.

- Franco-Vietnamese Hospital: No. 1 Phuong Mai, Dong Da.

- Vinmec Hospital.

- Hong Ngoc Hospital.

- Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Phuong Mai, Dong Da.

- Service vaccination room, under the National Institute for Vaccine and Biological Control, No. 1 Nguyen Xuan Yem, Dai Kim Ward, Hoang Mai.

- Polyvac Vaccination and Service Department, Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals; No. 418 Vinh Hung, Thanh Tri, Hoang Mai.

- Service vaccination room: No. 182 Luong The Vinh, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi (belonging to Hanoi National University Hospital, an affiliated facility of the Center for Vaccine Research and Production).

In some other provinces in the North:

- Preventive Medicine Centers of Thanh Hoa, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Hoa Binh, Son La, Thai Nguyen provinces.

- Medical Center of Nam Dinh City, Viet Tri and Bac Giang.

According to VNE