According to the measles vaccination situation at Ward 8 Health Station, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, in the city's measles vaccination campaign, in recent days, the medical staff here have continuously carried out vaccinations, even on weekends and holidays. However, the number of children coming to Ward 8 Health Station for vaccination has not yet reached the expected list.
Doctor Tran Hoang Ha - Head of Ward 8 Health Station, Go Vap District - said that currently, the station has increased support from community collaborators to collect information about children who have not received 2 full doses of vaccination and children who have just arrived but have not registered for vaccination monitoring.
However, the reality is that many children have been called many times to get the measles vaccine, but have not yet come to get it.
"The reason could be that parents are busy with work or have registered for outside services so they do not come to the station to get vaccinated. Therefore, with more than 200 children being monitored for vaccination, the station has only been able to vaccinate more than 60% of this number," added Dr. Hoang Ha.
Delays or suboptimal measles vaccination rates pose many risks, including the risk of infection when children return to school.
Ms. Le Hong Nga, Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the epidemic situation is increasing rapidly. Notably, in the first week of children returning to school, the city recorded 98 measles cases, an increase of 33.8% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks. Accumulated from the beginning of the year until now, Ho Chi Minh City has had 581 measles cases.
According to Ms. Hong Nga, from August 31 to September 9, the city has administered 28,229 vaccine doses, including 19,821 doses for children aged 1-5, 5,260 doses for children aged 6-10, and 3,148 doses for high-risk children and medical staff.
Mr. Tang Chi Thuong - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health - commented that there is no shortage of measles vaccines and human resources, but the slow vaccination progress shows that the problem lies in the organization.
Therefore, in the coming time, in addition to the city's health system, VNVC and Long Chau Vaccination Center will join in supporting to ensure measles vaccination coverage for children as quickly as possible.
