Vietnam will have a new 6-in-1 vaccine

The Hexaxim vaccine (6 in 1) is currently being circulated in about 80 countries around the world. According to the plan, the vaccine supplier will complete the application to register the circulation of this vaccine in Vietnam in 2016.

Vaccination helps children prevent many dangerous infectious diseases. Photo: VGP/Thuy Ha.

To meet the demand for new generation vaccines, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology is currently testing the French Hexaxim (6 in 1) vaccine in Thai Binh province.

This will be the second source of 6-in-1 vaccine registered for circulation in our country and used for children receiving vaccination services and can be an alternative source of vaccine in the future.

In recent years, Vietnam has only imported 6-in-1 vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline Pte.Ltd (GSK). In 2015, GSK supplied about 38,000 doses of Infanrix Hexa (6-in-1) vaccine to Vietnam.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health) said that in 2016, GSK will supply about 49,000 doses to the Vietnamese market. The vaccine is used to prevent 6 dangerous diseases in children, including: diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, hepatitis B and meningitis caused by Hib.

Recently, 5-in-1 and 6-in-1 service vaccines imported to Vietnam have always been in short supply. The health sector has advised families not to wait for service vaccines and miss the "golden time" for children's vaccination. Parents should take their children to get the Quivaxem vaccine in the expanded immunization program to prevent diseases for children.

According to Mr. Tran Dac Phu, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, vaccination services are mainly carried out in two big cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and only very few children receive them in this form.

In 2014, about 1.6 million children were vaccinated with Quinvaxem vaccine with a vaccination rate of over 95%. Meanwhile, the number of children vaccinated with 5-in-1 and 6-in-1 vaccines through service vaccination was only about 100,000 children.

The quantity of the above two vaccines used through service vaccination is only about 8% of the quantity of Quinvaxem vaccine in the expanded immunization program.

According to Chinhphu.vn