HCM City needs over 1.7 million vaccine doses for expanded immunisation programme
Ho Chi Minh City needs more than 1.7 million doses of 12 types of vaccines for children under the expanded immunisation programme between now and June 2024, according to a report to the municipal People’s Committee sent by the Department of Health.
Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) -Ho Chi Minh City needs more than 1.7 million doses of 12 types of vaccines for childrenunder the expanded immunisation programme between now and June 2024, accordingto a report to the municipal People’s Committee sent by the Department of Health.
Particuarly, the city needs 121,700 doses and 126,240 doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 2023 and in the first six months of 2024, respectively.
The city also needs 110,668 doses and 73,842 doses of vaccine DPT-VGB-HiB against five diseases including diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia/pyogenic meningitis caused by Hib bacteria for 2023 and the first six months of 2024, respectively.
From 2022, the shortage of vaccines in the expanded immunisation programme took place in Ho Chi Minh City as well as in other localities.
Ministerof Health Dao Hong Lan said at a working session between Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and leaders of some ministries, sectors and localities on the purchase of vaccines for children within the expanded immunisation programme last month that the ministry was assigned to buyand allocate vaccines to localities within the target programmefor the medical-population programme for the 2016-2020 period.
After this programme ended in 2020, the ministryreceived budget from the central budget for the work to ensure vaccines for2021 and 2022.
She said that the ministry hopes to be allowed tocontinue the vaccine purchase for the expanded immunisation programme as it isan effective scheme with significant importance in ensuring social welfare forwomen and children.
Meanwhile, Vice Director of the Ho Chi MinhCity Department of Health Nguyen Anh Dung pointed to a number of legalobstacles in the work. He said that all vaccines in the expanded immunisationprogramme are on the list of drugs for national centralised bidding, so thereis no mechanism for self-biding in localities.
☂ Dung suggested that central agencies provide abudget to the Ministry of Health for bidding activities and allow it toallocate vaccines./.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha asked the Ministry of Health to place orders or organise concentrated bidding while calculating vaccine donations to ensure enough vaccines for the expanded immunisation programme, at a working session on May 11.
By all means, enough vaccines must be provided to children as soon as possible, asked Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at a working session with leaders of some ministries, sectors and localities on the purchase of vaccines for children within the expanded immunisation programme, held on June 10.
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.
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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 
