HCM City residents rush to get flu vaccine

The number of people getting flu vaccines has risen in recent days following three deaths from swine flu (A/H1N1) in HCM City.

Dr Nguyen Thi Cuc of the Vietnam Vaccination JSC (VNVC) in the city’s Phu Nhuan District, said that in the last few days around 1,000 people were getting the flu vaccine daily. Previously, the number of people ranged from 100-200 a day.

Parents who have taken their children for vaccines under the regular immunization schedules have also registered for flu vaccines for their kids.

Many people are getting the vaccines for all family members.

Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people who are overweight or obese, or have chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma are at high risk of serious flu complications, she added.

The city’s Preventive Medicine Centre reported a spike in the number of people getting flu vaccines.

The centre attributed the rise to fear about the recurrence of swine flu and the three reported deaths.

The number of children who receive vaccines increases in the summer as they are out of school, according to the centre.

At least 28 patients at Tu Du Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and 15 patients at Cho Ray Hospital have tested positive for swine flu. 

There are 30,000 cases of influenza in the southern region every year, according to the HCM City Pasteur Institute. 

Ministry of Health ensures sufficient supply of vaccines

A baby is vaccinated at the Pasteur Institute in HCM City. 

The Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health has asked local health departments, vaccination centres, and vaccine producers and traders to ensure a sufficient supply of vaccines nationwide.

Đỗ Văn Đông, deputy head of the Drug Administration, said the production, import and supply of vaccines for the national expanded immunisation programme was generally sufficient but that a shortage could occur in some situations.

Vaccine importers at times have had shortages because of epidemic outbreaks, leading to a mismatch between supply and demand, he said.

Available vaccines in the country include five-in-one combination vaccines, and vaccines against tuberculosis, hepatitis B, polio, Japanese encephalitis, typhoid and tetanus.

The Drug Administration urged local vaccine manufacturing facilities to increase production and work with foreign producers to transfer advanced technologies so that volume and quality could be maintained. 

VNS