Vaccine shortages for public services continued into 2016.

Vaccine manufacturers and distributors have stated that there is currently insufficient supply of vaccines for the Vietnamese market and Ho Chi Minh City in 2015-2016.

A report submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health by GlaxoSmithKline shows that in 2015, 38,000 doses of the Infanrix Hexa (6-in-1) vaccine were supplied to the Vietnamese market, of which 4,000 doses were provided to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City for clinical research. As of March 11th, only 16,059 doses of the vaccine remained available for supply to the Ho Chi Minh City market until the end of the year.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health recommends that residents in the city use the Quinvaxem (5-in-1) vaccine as part of the Expanded Immunization Program. (Illustrative image: Nam Phuong)

Merck Sharp & Dohme supplied 166,000 doses of Varivax chickenpox vaccine in 2015. The company is currently applying for a visa from the Ministry of Health; if approved, they will import 170,000 doses for the Vietnamese market in 2016. Sang Pharma supplied 300,000 doses of Varivax chickenpox vaccine in 2015 to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City.

In the current vaccine shortage situation, the City Health Department recommends that people use the Quinvaxem (5-in-1) vaccine as part of the national expanded immunization program to meet the disease prevention needs for children. Quinvaxem is a combination vaccine that prevents five diseases: diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and meningitis caused by Hib bacteria. Clinical studies show that over 97% of children who receive the three basic doses (2-3-4 months) are protected from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and meningitis caused by Hib bacteria. Over 91% of children are protected against hepatitis B when vaccinated according to the schedule (2-3-4 months) but have not received the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

In Vietnam, 1.6 million children are born each year. Meanwhile, in 2014, only about 400,000-500,000 doses of the two privately-supplied vaccines, the 6-in-1 (Infanrix-Hexa) and the 5-in-1 (Pentaxim), were administered. Last year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health, the number of children who received one of these two vaccines was only 8% compared to the Quinvaxem vaccine in the expanded immunization program.

Ho Chi Minh City administered 280,000 doses of Quinvaxem vaccine in 2014. Post-vaccination monitoring recorded no cases of severe reactions leading to death, and 28 cases of mild reactions. Two cases of severe reactions were treated promptly and left no lasting effects.

According to VnExpress.