Vietnam will be able to control the hepatitis B virus.

One of the key objectives of the National Expanded Immunization Program for the coming year is to increase the rate of hepatitis B vaccine administration to newborns within 24 hours.

At a press conference highlighting the highlights of the expanded immunization program and the challenges in 2017, Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Head of the National Expanded Immunization Program Office, stated that the current rate of hepatitis B vaccination is low.

Public trust has been eroded by several incidents of infant deaths following hepatitis B vaccination, even though health experts have determined that the vaccine was not the cause of these incidents. Most mothers agree to have their children vaccinated because they trust their doctors, rather than fully understanding why the vaccine needs to be administered within the first 24 hours after birth.

Healthcare workers are also "afraid" to administer the hepatitis B vaccine.

Furthermore, some hospitals are hesitant, and some vaccination staff are even afraid to administer this vaccine. Ms. Hong believes this is a concern and also an issue that needs to continue to be prioritized as the Expanded Immunization Program's goal of reducing the incidence of neonatal hepatitis B in children under 5 years old to below 1% by 2017 is approaching.

"Vietnam needs to increase the rate of hepatitis B vaccination for newborns within 24 hours to achieve the goal of controlling hepatitis B by 2017," Ms. Hong said.

According to Dr. Duong Thi Hong, the hepatitis B vaccine is a recombinant, inactivated vaccine, prepared from the plasma of healthy individuals carrying the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) without clinical symptoms, and therefore has no potential to cause virulence. Therefore, parents should not be overly concerned about the vaccine's quality but should have their children vaccinated according to schedule to protect future generations.

"This vaccine is absolutely safe and does not cause significant side effects, although it may cause mild pain at the injection site, but this will subside a few days after injection," Dr. Duong Thi Hong informed.

Healthcare workers administer hepatitis B vaccinations to newborns.

According to health experts, the best way to prevent hepatitis B is to give children all four doses of the vaccine, with the first dose administered within the first 24 hours after birth. Even if the mother does not have hepatitis B, the child still needs to be vaccinated because they can be infected through cross-contamination during care if they come into contact with a source of infection.

In children under 10 years old infected with the hepatitis B virus, 90% develop chronic hepatitis B, and 80% of cases lead to liver cancer and cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis B infection. Early vaccination can prevent hepatitis B infection, even after exposure to the virus.

Furthermore, in 2017, in addition to routine immunization activities, the Expanded Immunization Program (EIP) needs to implement key activities to achieve the goal of continuing to maintain the achievements in polio eradication and the elimination of neonatal immunization. Continued priority should be given to investing in increasing the rate and quality of immunization in disadvantaged and remote areas.

Strengthen efforts to achieve the goal of eliminating measles in the near future, maintain a high rate of measles and measles-rubella vaccination for children in routine immunization, and enhance disease surveillance to detect and respond promptly, controlling the spread of the disease.

Continue to protect the achievements of the expanded immunization program.

Vietnam continues to protect its achievements in eradicating polio and eliminating neonatal tetanus. Measles and rubella are under control. The morbidity and mortality rates of many diseases in the Expanded Immunization Program continued to decline in 2016.

By the end of October 2016, the rate of complete vaccination for children under 1 year old reached 83.4%. The rate of measles-rubella vaccination for 18-month-old children reached 79.1%. June 2016 also marked the completion of the supplementary measles-rubella vaccination campaign for 16-17 year old males and females before entering university and starting work.

Nearly 1.8 million individuals aged 16-17 have been vaccinated against measles and rubella, achieving a vaccination rate of 94.9%. As a result, only 34 cases of measles were recorded in 2016, a decrease of 442 times compared to 2014 and 8 times compared to 2015.

To maintain the polio eradication achievements, in July 2016, the Expanded Immunization Program successfully organized an oral polio vaccine (OPV) campaign for children under 5 years old in 120 high-risk districts across 19 provinces/cities, achieving a rate of 95.3%.

Following WHO recommendations, in May 2016, Vietnam, along with 155 other countries, switched from the trivalent polio vaccine to the bivalent polio vaccine (bOPV) to work towards the goal of eradicating polio globally.

According to Zing