On March 13, the Department of Prevention (Ministry of Health) sent a document to the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang and the Department of Health of Quang Nam province on strengthening prevention and control of measles.
According to the report of the Quang Nam Center for Disease Control, the number of cases and suspected measles cases is complicated, with two deaths suspected of being caused by measles occurring at home. In addition, the progress of implementing the epidemic vaccination campaign is still slow.
In this situation, the Department of Disease Prevention requested the Quang Nam Department of Health to speed up the measles vaccination campaign in 2025, ensuring the completion of 20,000 doses of vaccine distributed before March 25, 2025. Vaccination should be prioritized in districts with many cases or suspected measles.
In addition, Quang Nam needs to continue to effectively implement the expanded immunization program, organize catch-up vaccination, and catch-up vaccination for children who have not been vaccinated or have not received enough doses. Depending on the actual situation, mobile vaccination and home vaccination can be applied to quickly increase the vaccine coverage rate in the community.
The Department of Prevention also noted that there should be no shortage of funding, medical supplies or human resources that delay the vaccination progress. If there are difficulties beyond its authority, the Department of Health needs to immediately report to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for timely solutions.
In case of need to supplement vaccines, the Quang Nam Department of Health proactively reports to the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute to coordinate vaccine sources in the area or propose to the Department of Prevention for support from other provinces.
In addition to health measures, the Department of Disease Prevention emphasizes promoting communication on measles prevention and control, especially in ethnic minority areas, mobilizing people to take their children for vaccination on schedule and promptly examine and treat them when there are signs of measles.
To improve treatment effectiveness, the Ministry of Health proposes to apply social networks to establish remote technical support groups, assign top-level doctors to support commune health stations, especially in mountainous areas, where travel conditions are difficult. Village health workers need to closely monitor children suspected of having measles to promptly coordinate with upper-level health workers in care and referral when needed.
In remote villages where many children are infected or suspected of having measles, the Ministry of Health recommends that a temporary medical team be established to speed up vaccination, detect new cases and provide on-site treatment, ensuring that children have access to health care as soon as possible.
