Australia donates 490,000 doses of ‘5 in 1’ vaccine to Viet Nam

A handover ceremony of the DPT-HBV-Hib vaccine to prevent diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and pneumonia/ meningitis caused by Hib bacteria was held in Ha Noi on December 14.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister Dao Hong Lan sincerely thanked international partners, especially the Australian Government, for their timely assistance, stressing the vaccines will be used in the National Program on Immunization for children in the coming time.

It is expected that the vaccine will arrive in Viet Nam on the evening of December 15.

Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Duong Thi Hong said that the institute has developed a plan for the allocation of the vaccines according to the needs of localities, with mountainous and disadvantaged areas being prioritized.

The Expanded Program on Immunization of Viet Nam,launched in 1981, is providing immunization 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).

The vaccine against Rotavirus has been provided for a number of localities in 2023 and is expected to cover the whole nation in 2024.

Other vaccines against pneumococcal disease, cervical cancer, and seasonal flu will be introduced from 2025, 2026 and 2030, respectively./.