VN stops importing monotype vaccine
By Hien Nguyen - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The HCMC Department of Health said on Tuesday that Vietnam would stop importing monotype vaccine in July this year and would begin importing five-in-one vaccine instead.
The new vaccine protects against five diseases – diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and a bacterial infection called haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), which can cause pneumonia and meningitis.
Pham Khanh Phong Lan, deputy director of the department, explained the decision to import only the five-in-one vaccine to the Daily over the telephone.
“Some hospitals and preventative medical centers do not have enough vaccine. The new vaccine is easy and quick to import. However, if monotype vaccine is still available, medical institutions should continue using it too,” she said.
According to Lan, pharmaceutical companies had asked for permission to import the new vaccine six months ago. However, it was not approved until the vaccine shortage recently.
To deal with the shortage, Truong Quoc Cuong, head of the National Drug Administration, said that his department would import five-in-one vaccine to vaccinate against measles, polio and rubella.
Cuong agreed with Lan that hospitals and preventative medical centers should continue using monotype vaccine until there are sufficient five-in-one supplies.
In a document sent to hospitals, preventative medical centers and health departments nationwide on Tuesday, Cuong asked agencies to calculate exactly how much vaccine they would need to satisfy demand. He added that they should submit the application as soon as possible.
When asked why his department had reacted so slowly to vaccine import requests from pharmaceutical companies, Cuong refused to answer directly.
In related medicine news, imported drug prices in HCMC have increased since the end of February.
Lan of the city’s Health Department blamed the price hike on increasing gasoline costs and the U.S. dollar to Vietnam dong exchange rate. She said that as a result foreign-made medicine prices had increased by 3-5%.
“That is obvious. However, the price adjustment should be rational. If drug traders increase price irrationally, we will punish them by revoking their import visa numbers,” she said.
According to the Daily’s observation, some drugs, such as Augmentin, Clamoxyl, Zantac, Ventolin, Flixonase, Zinnat, Seretide, Kremil have increased 5-7% in price. These drugs are manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and distributed by Zuellig Pharma Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association reported that the prices of 14 imported drugs had increased at an average rate of 5.3% in February. The association said that was an acceptable rate.