Vietnam Successfully Produces Measles-Rubella Combined Vaccine

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MoH) on November 8 announced that it has successfully produced measles-rubella combined vaccine for the first time, as part of a project with co-operation from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), state media reported. The project has been implemented since May 2013 with the total budget of around JPY700 million. This brings Vietnam among 25 countries worldwide and the fourth country in Asia after Japan, India, and China that can produce the vaccine. The vaccine is expected to soon be provided free to local kids under the National Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Vietnam from 2017. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified that Vietnam has a fully-equipped national regulatory authority (NRA) system that ensures the safety and efficacy of vaccines produced and used in Vietnam. (Giao Thong - Transport Nov 9 p10, Tien Phong – Pioneer Nov 9 p6)