HCMC – Measles and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccines for children’s free inoculation under the Expanded Program on Immunization, have run out of stock, according to the Department of Health.
The department has asked for a new allocation of these vaccines from the Ministry of Health. The HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) has not received any batch of the measles and DPT vaccines from the Pasteur Institute since May this year.
HCDC used up 6,000 doses of DPT vaccines with the expiry date of September 5 supplied by the Pasteur Institute.
On August 31, the Pasteur Institute announced that the measles and DPT vaccines have not been available for allocation, marking the first time HCMC has run out of these two vaccines in the Expanded Program on Immunization.
Duong Thi Hong, deputy head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said vaccines had fallen short since August this year due to problems with administrative procedures.
The Ministry of Health should be in charge of solving these problems to ensure a steady supply of vaccines, she said.
Vietnam’s Expanded Program on Immunization has been carried out by the Ministry of Health, providing children under one year of age with free vaccinations against a number of common and fatal infectious diseases, such as measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, and hepatitis B.
According to the vaccination schedule, children should get two doses of the measles vaccine, starting with the first dose at nine months of age and the second dose at 18 months of age. A booster of the DPT vaccine is recommended when children turn 15-18 months old.
