Postpartum hepatitis B vaccination rates drop at alarming rate

Professor Nguyen Tran Hien, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Head of the Expanded Immunization Program, said that the rate of hepatitis B vaccination within the first 24 hours after birth in Vietnam is continuously decreasing at an alarming rate.

Medical staff take care of a newborn baby. (Photo: VNA)

In the first six months of the year, the rate of hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours after birth was only 20%, which is still too low compared to previous years. Specifically, in 2012, the rate of hepatitis B vaccination for newborns was 75%, but by 2013, the rate of hepatitis B vaccination for newborns reached 56%.

According to Mr. Hien, the vaccination rate has decreased sharply after the vaccination incident that caused the deaths of three children in Huong Hoa, Quang Tri last year.

The Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology expressed concern about the current risk of a decline in the rate of hepatitis B vaccination within the first 24 hours after birth. Because the low rate of hepatitis B vaccination in newborns will make it difficult to control hepatitis B virus infection in children. Meanwhile, hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours after birth will prevent 85-90% of cases of hepatitis B virus transmission from mother to child.

“In the coming time, the Ministry of Health will strengthen its direction to hospitals, assigning responsibility to hospitals so that hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours after birth is a standard clinical practice, mandatory indication in medical records,” said Mr. Hien.

Hepatitis B vaccination for newborns is not only a regulation specific to Vietnam but also a global strategy. In Vietnam, hepatitis B vaccination for newborns within 24 hours of birth has been implemented for more than 30 years.

According to Professor Nguyen Tran Hien, hepatitis B vaccine is benign, so there are no contraindications. Premature babies, low birth weight babies... can also be vaccinated. The rate of complications after vaccination is 1-2 cases/million doses, very low.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if not vaccinated within 24 hours after birth, the baby can be infected with the virus during the birth process. Therefore, doing a good job of vaccinating babies against hepatitis B within 24 hours after birth will reduce 16-20% of people carrying the disease to the next generation, thereby reducing the rate of people with cirrhosis and liver cancer./.

According to VNA