Vietnam is striving to produce all kinds of vaccines locally starting in 2018 to meet the domestic demand, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said at an online meeting in Hanoi Sept 27. At the event, Minister Tien urged local authorities to finish inspections on inoculations and restrict severe cases of post-vaccination reactions amid the rising dead cases, which make many people hesitant to participate in the government’s immunization program. She did not say more about a plan for domestic vaccine production. The health ministry will propose the government issue a decree on vaccinations, along with continuing to launch campaigns to raise public awareness of vaccinations and possible vaccine side effects. The ministry has decided to resume the use of Quinvaxem, a made-in-Korea combined vaccine against five diseases among children, after five months of suspension to clear up some cases of severe post-vaccination reactions. The move followed many tests from domestic and foreign labs proving the safety of the vaccine, which many Vietnamese suspect to have caused nine deaths from Nov 2012 to April 2013. Vietnam reported 22 deaths after vaccinations in the first seven months of this year. (Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sept 30 p3, http://vietq.vn [1] Sept 28)
