A handover ceremony of the DPT-HBV-Hib vaccine to prevent diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and pneumonia/ meningitis caused by Hib bacteria took place at the Ministry of Health (MoH) on December 14. The vaccines were funded by the Australian Government to Vietnam.

At the ceremony, Minister Dao Hong Lan sincerely thanked international organisations, especially the Australian Government, for their timely assistance, stressing the vaccines will be used in the National Programme on Immunisation for children in the coming time.

At the same time, the MoH also affirmed that as soon as the vaccine is handed over, the ministry, the Expanded Immunisation Programme, and related agencies will quickly deliver it to localities at the earliest.

It is expected that the doses will arrive in Vietnam on the evening of December 15. Lately, Vietnam has seen a shortage of vaccines in the Expanded Immunisation Programme.

Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Duong Thi Hong said that the institute has developed a plan for the allocation of the vaccines according to the needs of localities, with mountainous and disadvantaged areas being prioritised./.VNA