HCM City is providing free vaccinations for infants against measles and rubella as part of a Ministry of Health campaign to prevent a repeat of the 2014 measles outbreak (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Health centresin Ho Chi Minh City are working to verify how many children aged one to fivehave not been immunised against measles for a national campaign to provide freetwo-in-one vaccines against measles and rubella starting this month.
The Ministry of Health is undertaking thecampaign to increase immunisation coverage to prevent a repeat of the measlesoutbreak in 2014.
HCM City’s Preventive Health Centre reportedthat 400 people are suspected to have contracted measles so far this year.
The city has seen a rise in measles cases sincethe end of September, and the centre warned it would continue if the number ofchildren without measles shots was not reduced.
The vaccination campaign will end next January,Dr Nguyen Tri Dung, the centre’s head, told a recent meeting with healthcentres in all 24 districts.
The Thu Duc District Health Centre worked withthe local education division to obtain a list of children aged between one andfive at kindergartens and nurseries.
It then asked managers and teachers ofkindergartens and nurseries which children are yet to get two doses of themeasles vaccine.
This process revealed that 4,803 children needto get vaccinated. Centre officials wrote to these children’s families to saythey should take them to the nearest health centre for vaccination.
But Dung said this is not an effective methodsince many families fail to carry out the task.
The centre should instead collaborate withkindergartens and nurseries to provide vaccines there, he suggested.
The Tan Phu District Health Centre iscollaborating with the population division to visit each family to draw up a listof unvaccinated children and tell their families about the campaign.
Dr Nguyen Huu Hung, Deputy Dead of the city’s Departmentof Health, said it was important to identify which children in the communityhad not been immunised.
In September and October, the city carried out afree programme to vaccinate children born in 2016 and 2017, but Hung said itdid not reach enough children.
The Preventive Health Centre said recently thatseveral hospitals and other vaccine centres do not give children measles shotsat nine months, waiting instead until they are one year old to give them acombined measles-rubella shot despite the Ministry of Health’s recommendationthat children should be immunised against measles at nine months.
The Department of Health has since instructedall hospitals and immunisation centres to comply with the ministry’sinstructions.-VNS/VNA
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