VietNamNet Bridge – Because of a shortage of vaccine Pentaxim (5 in 1) and Infanrix hexa (6 in 1) in Vietnam until the end of 2016 as reported by the health sector, many parents have taken their babies to neighboring countries for vaccinations.

Some people shared information on overseas vaccinations.

Representatives of four Singaporean hospitals in Vietnam told Dan Tri newswire that the number of Vietnamese babies registered for vaccination in Singapore has sharply increased in the past two months.

During this time, each representative office on average received over 10 clients, who came to ask for vaccination service in Singapore. Dozens of Vietnamese babies have been brought to Singapore for vaccination.

The average cost for vaccination is nearly $600 for a baby and the mother for three days/two nights, including the fee for vaccine, airfare, accommodation and service fee.

Going to Singapore for vaccination is the choice of wealthy families, who said they wanted to ensure the highest safety for their babies. They said they were worried about the quality of vaccines available in Vietnam as many incidents had occurred to kids after being vaccinated with Quinvaxem.

In related news, Dr. Kohei Toda, an expert from the World Health Organization’s Expanded Program on Immunization, and Dr. Tran Dac Phu, Head of the Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health, have rejected information released on social networks that the WHO is carrying out the trial of the South Korean-made vaccine Quinvaxem on Vietnamese kids, reported Sai Gon Giai Phong Daily.

Dr. Kohei Toda said that since 2006, the made-in-Korea Quinvaxem vaccine quality has been tested and approved to sell in the market. So far, the vaccine has been used in 94 nations with 449 million doses given to children. 

In Southeast Asian countries, the vaccine is used in Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Laos. In Vietnam, 24.9 million doses have been used since 2010. WHO did not use Vietnamese kids as test subjects.

The expert said that the WHO has recorded serious post-vaccination incidents in Vietnam. The rate of children dying after vaccination this year has remained the same compared to previous years. He stressed that the rate of vaccine –related deaths is 4.5 in one million doses, which is still lower than WHO’s statistic of 1-20 deaths in one million doses.

The WHO expert yesterday said that the vaccine is necessary to prevent disease, as Quinvaxem quality is good and its price is reasonable.

Le Ha