New vaccines to be added to expanded programme on immunisation
Many new kinds of vaccines will be included in the national expanded programme on immunisation (EPI) in the coming time, said Dr. Dang Thanh Huyen, deputy head of the EPI Office under the Ministry of Health, on July 10.
Huyen said that according to the roadmap, the vaccine against Rotavirus will be provided in a number of localities in 2023 and the whole nation in 2024.
Meanwhile, vaccines against pneumococcal disease, cervical cancer, and seasonal flu will be introduced from 2025, 2026 and 2030, respectively, said the official.
Associate Prof. Le Viet Dung, vice director of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, said the administration has received registration from several units to provide vaccines against the hand-foot-mouth disease. The vaccines have been classified as prioritised for consideration to grant circulation permit.
The EPI of Vietnam, which was launched in 1981, is providing immunisation to 12 vaccine preventable diseases of Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hib, Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis, Cholera (in high-risk areas), and Typhoid (in high-risk areas).
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), in Vietnam, it is estimated that EPI has saved 42,000 lives and prevented more than 6.7 million childhood diseases like polio, tetanus, diphtheria, measles and pertussis with high vaccine coverage. Official 2017 data indicated a coverage of 97% for Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), 97% for measles-containing vaccine (MCV) first dose, and 93% for MCV second dose.