Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has instructed district
health officials to either send messages or call parents of children born
between January and September in 2019 to remind them
about vaccination schedules this year.
The i rate
among children in the city’s national expanded programme on immunization
in the first six months of the year was only 54.5 percent.
The immunization coverage was lower than the
centre’s goal of 71.3 percent, Dr Le Hong Nga, head of the centre’s infectious
diseases control division said at a conference reviewing the
programme.
The expanded programme on immunization has
been carried out nationwide since 1985. It provides free
vaccines against diseases including hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diphtheria,
whooping-cough, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenza type b, measles,
Japanese encephalitis, and Rubella to children under 5 years old.
In HCM City, the rate of children vaccinated
against diphtheria in the first half of the year was 88 percent, while
the goal was 95 percent, Nga said.
According to the centre, a diphtheria
vaccine does not ensure permanent immunity, so a booster injection for
children and adults is compulsory to prevent the spread of the disease in
the community.
Children as well as adults can contract
diphtheria, the centre said, adding that infections have occurred in the
Central Highlands provinces in the last several months.
The national immunization
programme has enough free vaccines, so parents should feel
secure in bringing their children to district health centres
for vaccinations as required by the Ministry of Health’s regulations.
According to Nga, because of the COVID-19
pandemic, many parents have been reluctant to bring their children to
health facilities for vaccinations. In March and April, the city stopped
the vaccination service because of the COVID crisis.
She suggested that health officials visit houses
of parents to remind them about vaccination schedules.
The centre has an application that can be
used to make appointments at 24 health centres in districts and
hospitals. This helps reduce overcrowding and waiting time for parents and
children.
To reach a 95 percent rate of children
getting a diptheria vaccination, the centre plans to compile a list
of children who need to be contacted./.
Source: VietnamPlus
