Vietnam has stopped using the Quinvaxem 5-in-1 vaccine.

Starting in April, Vietnam will begin using a new 5-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Hib for children, replacing the familiar Quinvaxem vaccine from South Korea, due to the Quinvaxem factory in South Korea ceasing production of this product.

Quinvaxem vaccine. Photo: Internet

The alternative vaccine to Quinvaxem, manufactured in India, also meets the same World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification standards as Quinvaxem. Before being licensed for use in Vietnam, this vaccine had already been used in more than 40 countries worldwide with a total of over 400 million doses and achieved a safety rate according to WHO standards.

The National Expanded Immunization Program announced that starting in April, the new vaccine will be piloted on a small scale in four provinces, with the possibility of expanding its deployment from May.

Although the new vaccine has already been used in many countries, the Immunization Project will conduct thorough nationwide training and guidance before making it available for widespread use.

The Quinvaxem vaccine has been in use in Vietnam for nearly 10 years, administered to children at 2, 3, and 4 months of age. It is a vaccine that is of great interest to parents due to the relatively high number of doses administered (Vietnam uses nearly 5 million doses of the 5-in-1 vaccine annually, the vast majority of which are Quinvaxem).

In addition, some children have experienced severe reactions after receiving this vaccine. In 2017 alone, there were 9 cases of adverse reactions after Quinvaxem vaccination, 8 of which occurred after using both Quinvaxem and OPV, and 1 case where only Quinvaxem was used.