Vietnam’s Ministry of Health will launch the largest-ever nationwide free measles and rubella vaccination campaign on Sept 15, targeting 23 million children at the age of between 1 and 14. The campaign will be carried out into three phases, with the first providing the vaccine for children under five in September and October, the second targeting children in the 6-10 age group in November and December, and the third for kids aged 11-14 in January and February next year. As of May 27, the measles vaccination ratio in Vietnam hit 96.1% on average. Measles remains a threat in Vietnam, with thousands of children in 61 out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide infected and more than a hundred of them died in the first months of 2014. The ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine on Sept 6 said that a number of scarlet fever cases suspected of measles have been recorded in the northern provinces of Son La and Hoa Binh. Fifty cases were reported on Aug 15-30 in Van Ho district of Son La province while 93 others were seen from Aug 18 to Sept 4 in Hang Kia commune of Hoa Binh province. Most of them were from the Mong ethnic minority group. The department attributed poor access to healthcare services and a low measles vaccination rate to a high risk of an outbreak of the disease. (VnExpress Sept 8)
