Out of Quinvaxem vaccine, children can be vaccinated with new vaccine from the end of September

Illustration photo.

It is known that in September, the preventive medical center of District 9, Ho Chi Minh City ran out of Quinvaxem vaccine for children from 2 to 9 months. When the vaccine is available, the medical station will notify later - excerpt from the announcement from the medical station of Tang Nhon Phu ward.

Not only in Ho Chi Minh City, but also in some localities, Quivaxem vaccine has run out and is waiting for a new vaccine. Quinvaxem 5-in-1 vaccine is injected into children at 2, 3, 4 months old, preventing diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and pneumonia/meningitis caused by Hib bacteria, in the National Expanded Immunization Program.

According to Professor Dang Duc Anh - Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the manufacturer in Korea has stopped producing this vaccine, so the remaining Quinvaxem vaccines will be used up and replaced with a new vaccine. The Ministry of Health has a plan to switch the use of Quinvaxem vaccine to a 5-in-1 vaccine similar in composition and disease prevention effectiveness to replace this vaccine.

Accordingly, the selected vaccine is called ComBE Five. This is a combination vaccine to prevent 5 dangerous infectious diseases for children: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia/purulent meningitis caused by Hib bacteria, produced in India, circulated in India since 2010. ComBE Five vaccine has been registered for circulation in Vietnam (Decision No. 196/QD-QLD dated May 30, 2017) with a validity of 5 years.

Currently, according to Professor Duc Anh, the ComBE Five vaccine has been imported to Vietnam and is in the testing phase and may only be available for children by the end of September to replace Quivaxem.
Doctor Duc Anh said that this new vaccine has been tested for safety, but according to regulations, any imported vaccine must be tested again.
Professor Anh advised that children who are currently receiving the Quivaxem vaccine but have run out of the vaccine can wait until later to get it. Children who are 2 months or older and are due to receive the 5-in-1 vaccine should wait until the end of the month for the new vaccine, parents do not need to worry too much - this professor said.
Children who have received 1 or 2 doses of Quinvaxem vaccine will continue to receive the next dose of ComBE Five vaccine and will not have to start over. The Ministry of Health recommends that parents continue to fully vaccinate their children on schedule with vaccines in the expanded immunization program to prevent dangerous infectious diseases.

In Vietnam, the vaccine was used in the field in 4 districts of Ha Nam province from September 2016 to January 2017. The results showed that only some common reactions were recorded after vaccination on the first day after vaccination, including: Pain at the injection site, red halo with a rate of 5-15%. Fever with a rate of 34-39%. No severe reactions were recorded after vaccination.