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The Ministry of Health explains why it is slow to buy Covid-19 vaccines for children 5-11 years old

03/23/2022 07:50 GMT+7

Vaccination for children can only be given to children 5-11 years old, not for other people. If not calculated carefully, there may be an excess or a shortage of vaccines.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen on the afternoon of March 22 said that the Ministry of Health will work with recalculation units to report to the Prime Minister on the issue of Covid-19 vaccines for children 5-11 years old, in order to ensure say not too much, not too little.

Vietnam is currently in the top 10 in the world, sixth in Asia in terms of Covid-19 vaccine coverage. In just a short time so far, for people aged 18 and over, our country has basically completed injections of 1, 2; nose 3 reached 45%. At the same time, prepare to vaccinate children 5-11 years old.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said that from the beginning of December last year, the ministry had developed a plan and submitted to the Government for promulgation a resolution to buy vaccines for children aged 5-11. At that time, according to the statistics of the provinces, the number of children aged 5-11 years old in our country was about 11.8 million, equivalent to about 21.9 million doses of vaccine (calculated according to the normal vaccination rate reaching 95%, 2 injections). We were in negotiations at the time and Pfizer’s vaccine was not yet licensed.

The Ministry of Health explains why it is slow to buy Covid-19 vaccines for children 5-11 years old
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Up to now, the vaccine has been licensed, but the epidemic situation is different, specifically the number of children infected with Covid-19 has increased. In addition, there are a number of organizations that want to support vaccines for Vietnam but have not confirmed the quantity and time. Most recently, on March 18, the Australian side also wanted to support more than 9 million doses of vaccines for children, mainly Moderna.

“Vaccines for children are different from all vaccines given to people 12 years old and older, that is, they can only be given to children 5-11 years old, not for other people. This is a difficult point, if not calculated carefully, there may be an excess or a shortage of vaccines. The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Health not to leave excess, not to lack, this is difficult, “said Deputy Minister Tuyen.

According to the Deputy Minister, for the same reason, there has been a delay in buying vaccines for children aged 5-11. The Ministry of Health has also been criticized for being slow. The ministry is also asking concerned parties to review to see what the cause of the delay is, objectively or subjectively, to report to the Prime Minister.

“If we are sponsored by organizations, without having to buy a lot, we will save millions of dollars. While a deposit has been purchased, it cannot be transferred, given away or sold. That is the difficult point. The department will work with recalculation units to report on vaccines for children 5-11 years old. We are trying to submit it to the Prime Minister by the end of this month,” said Deputy Minister Tuyen.

Earlier on March 15, the Government Office sent a document to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on inspection and inspection of the purchase of vaccines for children from 5 to under 12 years old and the licensing of therapeutic drugs. Covid-19.

Accordingly, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the Ministry of Health to carry out internal inspection, review and clarify responsibilities of organizations and individuals related to the delay in purchasing vaccines for children aged 5 to under 12. age and the delay in licensing drugs to treat Covid-19. Results must be completed and reported to the Prime Minister in March 2022. Thus, this is not the first time the Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Health to review this matter.

Regarding the proposal of the Ministry of Health on the “Plan for using vaccines against Covid-19 in 2022”, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the Ministry of Health to direct localities to speed up vaccination work. the 3rd dose of Covid-19 prevention for people aged 18 and over; definitely not to delay the purchase and organization of injections for children from 5 to under 12 years old.

The Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of Health to closely monitor the situation, make recommendations and international experiences on the 4th injection to promptly handle and report issues beyond its authority. If there is a shortage of vaccines, for consequences, the Minister of Health must be responsible before the Government and the Prime Minister.

N. Huyen

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