Efforts to cover vaccines in the ‘low-lying’ areas of vaccination

Within a week of the first week of May, the VNVC Immunization System opened two more district vaccination centers, VNVC Thuan An and VNVC Phan Thiet, bringing the total number of centers nationwide of VNVC to 66. VNVC Thuan An has an area of ​​66. nearly 1,000 m2, including 20 clinics and injections. This is the third center of VNVC in Binh Duong province, showing that the demand for vaccination and disease prevention in this dynamic city is very high. Meanwhile, VNVC Phan Thiet is the first high-class vaccination center in Binh Thuan province, where there are many international tourists, a large population, and high demand for disease prevention.

On the morning of May 6, Mr. Le Van Lan, 32 years old, currently a worker at Dong An Industrial Park (Thuan An, Binh Duong province) asked to take a day off from work in the morning to get flu and cholera vaccines at VNVC Thuan An. He said that 3 weeks ago, a neighbor had cholera and diarrhea and had to be hospitalized for treatment. His apartment block is mostly workers, quite cramped, crowded, very contagious when there is an infectious disease.

“I have known VNVC for a long time, but I was afraid to go far to get vaccinated. Now that VNVC is open right near my house, I just need to take advantage of the afternoon or go to work early to get an injection to be safe,” said Mr. Lan.

BS. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of the VNVC Immunization System, said that many people in remote areas, especially at the district and commune levels, do not have access to high-quality and adequate vaccination services. vaccines, properly preserved, safe with reasonable costs. This is largely due to the lack of large investment in vaccination units for these local routes, mainly still exploiting densely populated urban areas. This puts people, especially children, at a disadvantage in vaccination, at high risk of contracting infectious diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.

Statistics from Binh Duong Department of Health show that in 2021 and the first 3 months of 2022, the rate of complete immunization for children under 1 year old has not yet reached the set plan. Notably, the vaccines for oral polio, injectable polio, measles, measles – rubella… only achieved 80% of the yearly plan. In remote densely populated areas, inns, it is difficult to access, propagate and handle epidemics.

Data from Binh Thuan Department of Health in the first 3 months of 2022 also show that the province only achieved a very low vaccination rate. The number of children under 1 year of age fully vaccinated with important vaccines such as 6-in-1, tuberculosis and measles vaccines reached 20.26%, down 1.3% over the same period in 2021 and a low figure compared to the national average. country.

“Opening many vaccination centers at district and commune health centers, VNVC tries to shorten the geographical distance, limit long travel, create a comfortable and secure mentality for people to conveniently inject vaccines against disease. The simultaneous opening of many centers in localities also affirms the strategy committed to bringing vaccination closer to the people, thereby proactively protecting and improving health,” said Dr. Main emphasis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) calculates that 1 USD invested in vaccines saves 16 USD in treatment costs. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund – UNICEF, vaccines save nearly 3 million lives every year. On average, every 5 minutes that pass, 5 people are saved thanks to the vaccine. However, the reluctance to vaccinate children has left millions of children unprotected. WHO considers reluctance to vaccinate as one of 10 public health risks worldwide. UNICEF also says that around 1.5 million deaths could be prevented if vaccination coverage was increased globally.

According to BS. Truong Huu Khanh – Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Union of Infectious Diseases Association, the above figures show the need to prepare early for the outbreak of infectious diseases, especially in rural areas. Because many people have not been vaccinated with vaccines, some infectious diseases may reappear such as cholera, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, meningitis…

In order to quickly support people to prevent epidemics in the post-Covid-19 period, especially modern diseases such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, whooping cough – diphtheria – tetanus, chickenpox… in In the first months of 2022, VNVC System has opened a series of vaccination centers, from areas where diphtheria and meningitis have been hit such as Hoang Mai (Nghe An), Thai Binh; to localities where vaccination demand is increasing, such as Long Binh Tan ward (Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province), My Tho city (Tien Giang) and the latest is the birth of VNVC Thuan An and VNVC Phan Thiet.

“VNVC strives to help people across the country have equal access to high-quality vaccines and vaccination services, and at the same time, tries to stabilize prices nationwide and apply many price incentives, making it easier for people to use them more vaccines to prevent disease,” added Dr. Chinh.

Mr. Ngoc