Vietnam considers mixing vaccines with Moderna jab
VOV.VN - The Ministry of Health (MoH) is considering mixing the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine with others due to a general shortage of the US-produced vaccine in the country.
The MoH said it has already allocated all vaccines it has received and there is now no Moderna doses left in stock.
The MoH has directed localities to reserve half of the allocated Moderna vaccine for the second dose as Vietnam currently has no deals to purchase more of this vaccine, except for donations.
Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest coronavirus hotspot, and Hanoi are speeding up their vaccination campaigns for those with the first shot, and as a result, they are now running out of vaccines for the second jab.
As recommended, both doses of Moderna should be administered four weeks apart. However, HCM City has recently provided local people who received the first Moderna shot with the second Pfizer dose.
Epidemiologist Truong Huu Khanh at the HCM City Children's Hospital No. 1, pointed to the fact that many countries have now permitted the mixing of Moderna and Pfizer.
Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been developed using mRNA technology, which teaches human cells how to make a protein which subsequently triggers an immune response.
The MoH said it would soon offer guidance for local people.
The MoH earlier issued guidelines regarding mixing two vaccines. Those given their first shot of the Sinopharm, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines must be given the booster shot of the same type.
However, in the case of limited supply, the Pfizer vaccine can be given as the second dose for those who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine for their first jab, with the consent of the people to be vaccinated.
Vietnam has so far received five million Moderna doses donated by the United States through COVAX, all of which have been distributed to localities for their mass vaccination programmes.
The HCM City People Committee has assigned the Saigon Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Sapharco) and VinaCapital to conduct negotiations with Zuellig Pharma, the local Moderna distribution partner, in order to secure more Moderna vaccine.
At present, Sapharco has contacted its counterpart and is now waiting for a reply from Moderna to launch official negotiations.
Providing that the contract is signed, a total of five million doses of the Moderna vaccine will be transported to Vietnam during the fourth quarter of the year, or alternatively in the first quarter of next year.
