About Quinvaxem Vaccine Vaccination

(Baonghean) - Since November 2013, following the direction of the Ministry of Health, Quinvaxem vaccination (5-in-1 vaccine) against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and pneumonia caused by HIP has been re-deployed in our province. Before that, strengthening safety in expanded immunization had been focused on by medical facilities and propaganda work had also been carried out widely.

This information has also been received by parents with two different opinions. This is also understandable, because in the history of the expanded immunization program, there have been few times when vaccination had to be stopped nationwide due to many incidents after vaccination. Right in Nghe An, there were also 3 children in Dong Hop commune, Quy Hop district who died after being vaccinated. However, the general conclusion of the Ministry of Health inspectors and the provincial inspectors confirmed that all three cases died of unknown causes.

The inspection process showed that the vaccination process of the expanded program was received, preserved and transported in accordance with regulations, no errors were detected during the vaccination process, and no evidence of the vaccine's connection to vaccination was identified. Information from the Ministry of Health also said: Through the assessment of leading experts from WHO (World Health Organization) on all cases of severe reactions and deaths after Quinvaxem vaccination in Vietnam from 2010 to present, it was shown that out of 43 severe cases, 27 deaths were not related to vaccination. There were 9 cases that could be considered related to Quinvaxem vaccine but all recovered. Particularly from the beginning of 2013 until now, there have been 5 deaths after Quinvaxem vaccination, according to the assessment of the expert group, all were not related to vaccination and vaccine quality.

Vaccination for children at Hong Son Ward Health Station (Vinh City).

As a mother of a newborn baby of nearly 2 months, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan in Truong Thi ward was very happy with this information because she believes: Vaccination is a very good way to prevent diseases for children. My child was born right when the hepatitis B vaccination was stopped, so he also had some disadvantages, but the family will vaccinate as soon as there is additional medicine. At the service clinic at the Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine, the number of people coming for service vaccinations is increasing, especially for hepatitis B, tuberculosis, and 6-in-1 vaccines. Meeting Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh in Vinh Tan ward when she brought her 10-day-old daughter for vaccination, she said: It was supposed to be vaccinated at the ward's health station, but the day my child was born, the vaccination date was past, so to ensure the right time, I brought her to the service clinic. After the vaccination, the medical staff reminded me to stay and monitor for about 30 minutes until my child was stable before leaving.

Currently, our province has also had 3 localities re-vaccinating Quinvaxin vaccine, namely Vinh City, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan. With 576 cases vaccinated, of which 216 children received the first injection, 150 children received the second injection, and 210 children received the third injection. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh - Director of Hung Nguyen District Preventive Medicine Center said: The rate of children coming to get vaccinated in Hung Nguyen is over 60%. Post-vaccination monitoring has not shown any severe reactions. There were more than 30 cases with mild reactions, but mainly pain at the injection site, mild fever and fussiness after a day, no case had to go to the hospital for treatment. This reaction is also normal because it shows that the baby has a good anaphylactic reaction to the vaccine. The good news is that, although in November Hung Nguyen has only started to vaccinate the 2nd and 3rd doses for children who have been interrupted because they stopped vaccinating since May, more than 200 other children who have not yet received the 1st dose have come to get vaccinated to prevent disease in their children after hearing about this information.

However, the fact that the number of children coming for vaccination is lower than expected is the thing that people working in vaccination are most concerned about at present. Regarding the cause, it is still the lack of trust of parents in the quality of vaccines. Talking to us, Ms. Nguyen Thi Che - Deputy Head of the Department of Disease Control - Nghi Loc District Preventive Medicine Center said: In nearly 20 years of working in vaccination, I have never seen the mobilization and propaganda for people to bring their children for vaccination as difficult as it is now. Most of the women when contacting us said: no one said it was because of the vaccine, but what if the risk rate happened to their child. Having a child is so difficult...

After nearly 5 months of stopping vaccination, Nghi Loc still has 500 children who have not received the second and third doses. In addition, there are about 2,000 children who have not received any doses. Determining that vaccination is a practical benefit and a mandatory regulation in the Law on Prevention of Infectious Diseases, Nghi Loc District Preventive Medicine Center is currently urgently preparing conditions to ensure the necessary requirements for vaccination such as training and certification for medical staff, renovating vaccination rooms, providing additional medical equipment, and preparing enough medicine in case of reactions.

In particular, for many years, Nghi Loc has been one of the leading localities in the province in doing a good job of checking vaccines. Accordingly, all vaccines before being stored and before being handed over to the communes are recorded and fully recorded. Regarding the commune health stations, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai - Head of Nghi Khanh Commune Health Station said: Every month, the station makes a vaccination plan. Staff are required to check every detail in the imported vaccine batches such as batch number, color, temperature, etc. to ensure compliance with the standards and regulations of the Ministry of Health.

On the part of the health sector, before simultaneously re-implementing vaccination in the whole province, an inspection team was established to inspect the conditions of vaccination facilities and vaccine storage to confirm that the facilities were qualified for vaccination. Through inspection and testing of 112 vaccination sites, 81 sites passed (reaching a rate of 72.3%). According to Mr. Ho Son - Chief Inspector of the Department of Health, all vaccination facilities strictly implemented vaccination regulations, most of the vaccination sites were newly invested in, ensuring the preservation and use of vaccines and medical biological products in prevention and treatment.

The cold chain system for preserving vaccines and medical biological products at the district health center has been invested in accordance with regulations, and many staff members are experienced and enthusiastic in the expanded immunization work. The limitation is that many places still lack posters, leaflets, and documents on vaccination, there are no separate vaccination rooms, the waiting area before vaccination and the 30-minute post-vaccination monitoring area at many fixed vaccination points are still cramped, there are not enough chairs to serve, some communes have refrigerators but do not have electricity to preserve vaccines, so they have to use cold containers...

To rectify the above shortcomings, for nearly a month now, the Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine has urgently trained and promptly issued certificates of eligibility to medical staff for vaccination in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Health - Mr. Thai Sy Than, an officer of the Department of Control of Infectious Diseases and Biological Vaccines, Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine confirmed. At the same time, it has urged localities to overcome shortcomings in vaccination work, confirming that facilities are qualified for vaccination. In addition, to facilitate the implementation of vaccination and ensure safety, the sector has promoted propaganda work on mass media, informing people about the vaccination schedule at each vaccination site. Arranging safe vaccination sites, doing a good job of designating and consulting before vaccination, preserving vaccine vials before and after vaccination, planning for monitoring, and making timely prevention plans after vaccination incidents occur.

My Ha