Pasteur Institute, Sanofi to provide vaccine training for healthcare professionals
The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City ad Sanofi Vietnam have signed a partnership agreement to implement a training strategy entitled “Vaccinology and Life-course Immunisation” for healthcare professionals in Vietnam from 2023 to 2025.
The partnership agreement signing ceremony (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) - The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City andSanofi Vietnam have signed a partnership agreement to implement a trainingstrategy entitled “Vaccinology and Life-course Immunisation” for healthcare professionalsin Vietnam from 2023 to 2025.
Speaking at the signing ceremony last week, Nguyen Vu Trung, director of thePasteur Institute in HCM City, said the training programme will providehealthcare professionals updates on fundamental matters regarding advisory,storage and vaccination.
This contributes to implementing knowledge without delay and improving theprevention of infectious diseases through vaccines, Trung said.
The three-year collaboration aims to provide knowledge to 1,000 healthcareprofessionals each year.
The training programme will arm medical staff with knowledge about immunology,vaccinology and life-course immunization in order to properly advise andvaccinate people of different ages.
It should also help raise the community’s trust in vaccination and improveimmunisation coverage rates of all ages.
It will be implemented through an online conference, which allows all medicalstaff across the country to easily participate.
It will have practical topics such as vaccinology and immunology 101, vaccinationfor infants and toddlers, vaccination for children and adolescents, vaccinationfor adults and tourists, vaccination for moms-to-be and particular demographicgroups, safety in vaccinations, vaccine storage and handling resources, andeffective vaccine advice for all ages.
In reality, Vietnam does not officially have any recommended life-courseimmunisation schedule for people in different age groups.
Life-course immunisation is not comprehensively implemented and trained forwhen medical staff give vaccinations.
Immunisation coverage rates for children, adolescents and adults to people athigher risk remain relatively low.
The Pasteur Institute in HCM City is one of the clinics under the Ministry ofHealth that provides preventive and public health services that meet society’sdemands in the southern region and other assigned local areas.
Sanofi is a leading firm in science research and development in the field ofvaccination./.
People’s consensus and support is the prerequisite for quickly expanding the vaccination coverage to effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong told the Government’s press briefing on September 6.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has demanded stricter disease prevention and accelerated COVID-19 vaccinations in a document recently sent to provincial-level administrations, epidemiology and Pasteur institutes, and hospitals nationwide.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative Office in Vietnam, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) in Vietnam, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) on September 28 renewed their commitment to stand with other sectors and stakeholders towards the global elimination of human deaths from rabies transmitted from dogs by 2030.
Countries worldwide can learn from Vietnam's COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control experience, said Chief Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam, Dr Angela Pratt.
Sanofi Vietnam and the National Hospital of Endocrinology signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to implement projects relating to diabetes in Hanoi on November 16.
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The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
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The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
The partnership agreement signing ceremony (Photo: VNA) 
