ComBe Five will replace Quinvaxem in the NEVP, according to Prof. Dang Duc Anh, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE).

Quinvaxem (a combination vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and hepatitis B for children under one year old), which was used in the NEVP for more than seven years, will be used nationwide until the end of May. 

ComBe Five, a similar vaccine will be used in four provinces of Ha Nam, Binh Dinh, Kon Tum and Dong Thap, before being widely utilised nationwide from June and July.

The India-made vaccine was approved by the MoH in May 2017, Anh said, adding that it is being used in more than 43 countries and territories.

Vietnam started the use of five-in-one vaccine in June 2010, with about 41 million free Quinvaxem doses provided for children under one year old. 

At the workshop, the MoH also announced that the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), with the support of “Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance” and UNICEF, will be used in the NEVP for children of five months old, starting August 2018.

The IPV injections will be administered to children aged five months alongside the use of oral polio vaccine, which is provided for children aged two, three and four months. 

This move is in conformity with the World Health Organisation’s Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013–2018.  

Vietnam controlled the spread of polio in 2000 thanks to the deployment of polio vaccines in the NEVP.

In addition, the made-in Vietnam rubella vaccine has been used in the programme in 19 localities since April. More than 50,000 children of 18-24 months old have been immunised with the vaccine, with no reports of severe reactions.-VNA