Ho Chi Minh City: Measles outbreak, late vaccination reduces prevention effectiveness?
Neglecting vaccination of children and adults can seriously reduce vaccination coverage, weakening the barrier of “community immunity”.
Many children have not been vaccinated against measles.
According to the latest report from the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), measles has appeared in 57 wards and communes in 16/22 districts, Thu Duc City. Since the beginning of 2024, the total number of suspected measles rash fever cases recorded in the community and medical facilities in Ho Chi Minh City is 597 cases.
During this year’s outbreak, hospitals in the city recorded 3 deaths related to measles. Meanwhile, 3 years ago (from 2021 to 2023), the whole of Ho Chi Minh City had only 1 case of measles.
 |
Pre-vaccination screening for children. |
Recently, a boarding house in Ward 12, Binh Chieu Ward, Thu Duc City, recorded 2 cases of measles. According to statistics, there are about 30 children in this boarding house who have not received enough measles and other vaccinations.
Therefore, last week, the medical station coordinated with Thu Duc City Medical Center to provide mobile vaccinations to 30 children with 85 injections of various types.
Doctor Nguyen Ngoc My, Head of Binh Chieu Ward Health Station, Thu Duc City, said that recently, many parents are worried that their children will have side effects after vaccination or in some cases, they use the excuse of being busy with work to forget to take their children for vaccination. In addition, some children are not taken care of by their families to get vaccinated on schedule.
“Previously, the number of parents bringing their children to get vaccinated was not high. However, after the measles outbreak and the communication support from community health collaborators, people have become more interested in vaccination. Therefore, in the past two weeks, about 150-200 children have come to register for both measles and other vaccines each week,” Dr. My added.
Facing the risk of measles outbreaks due to low vaccination rates, Ho Chi Minh City is currently launching a campaign to vaccinate about 517,250 children with measles vaccine at schools, health stations and hospitals. The campaign will last from July 2024 to September 2024.
In addition, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, to prevent the disease, parents need to proactively vaccinate their children with 2 doses of measles vaccine (1st dose when the child is 9 months old, 2nd dose when the child is 18 months old) when they reach the age of vaccination.
Adults also need measles vaccine
It can be seen that negligence in vaccination can seriously reduce the vaccination coverage rate in the community. This also weakens the "community immunity" barrier. This is also the main cause of the increase in the number of cases, even deaths, due to measles.
 |
| Adults can get the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. |
Medical experts say that measles does not only occur in children but also in adults. This makes the patient still live and interact with the community normally, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.
Therefore, Master, Doctor Nguyen Hien Minh, Deputy Head of the Vaccination Unit of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, recommends that adults who have never been vaccinated against measles before can be vaccinated with the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine with a schedule of 2 injections at least 4 weeks apart.
However, women should avoid pregnancy for 3 months after vaccination. In addition, women should also be vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella before becoming pregnant to avoid pregnancy complications.
In response to questions about whether late vaccination reduces the effectiveness of prevention, Dr. Minh shared: “In cases where vaccination has not been on schedule or has not been completed, a booster shot should be given as soon as possible. Because the measles vaccine is still effective in protecting against the disease 2-4 weeks after vaccination, as well as ensuring community immunity in reducing the rate of infection and preventing outbreaks.”
In particular, after receiving two doses of measles-containing vaccine, immunity is lifelong and protection is up to 95 - 97%. However, vaccination must be appropriate for the subject according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health and the manufacturer.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/tphcm-dich-soi-bung-phat-tiem-vac-xin-tre-co-giam-hieu-qua-phong-ngua-d222527.html
Comment (0)