Sa Pa: Measles vaccination rate reaches over 95%

According to the Ministry of Health, measles is a group B infectious disease caused by the measles virus. The disease is common in children under 5 years old and can also occur in adults who have not been vaccinated against measles or have not received enough doses. For Sa Pa town, the first measles case detected in the epidemic was in Muong Hoa commune on November 8, 2024, then the epidemic spread to all 16 communes and wards. To date, 687 cases have been recorded in the town...

Visit and screen suspected measles cases and organize measles vaccination at schools in Hoang Lien commune.

As soon as the first case was recorded, the Town Health Center proactively advised the Town People's Committee on plans to prevent and control measles in the area; directed and guided commune and ward health stations to deploy measures to prevent and control measles; closely monitored cases to isolate, handle and treat them promptly, not allowing the disease to break out and spread in the community. In addition, directed medical examination and treatment facilities to prepare isolation areas, medicines, supplies, equipment, human resources... to treat patients with measles and suspected measles rash fever, minimizing the number of cases of severe complications.

At the same time, the Town Health Center also urgently developed a plan to implement the measles vaccination campaign in 2025; coordinated with the Town Culture, Sports and Communications Center to strengthen communication activities on measles prevention and control measures; the benefits of vaccination in general and measles vaccine in particular; ensuring regular, complete and accurate information on the epidemic situation.

Along with that, the Department of Education and Training of the town has also coordinated well in implementing activities to prevent and control measles. Mr. Tran Ngoc Cu, Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Sa Pa town, said: The Department of Education and Training of the town has also issued documents directing and requesting schools to establish a Steering Committee for Measles Prevention and Control; requesting schools to count students who have not received enough measles shots and encourage parents to vaccinate their children to prevent the disease. In addition, promote communication on measles prevention and control in schools; monitor the health of children and students and immediately notify medical facilities when detecting suspected cases for isolation and treatment, preventing the disease from spreading in schools and the community.

Mr. Nguyen Khai Hoan, Deputy Director of Sa Pa Town Medical Center shared: In the process of implementing the measles vaccination campaign as planned, the Town Medical Center also encountered many difficulties due to rainy and cold weather; the number of children with respiratory diseases increased; a part of the people did not fully understand the importance of vaccination so they did not voluntarily vaccinate their children... However, with the attention and participation of local authorities and related units in propaganda and mobilization work, people actively vaccinated their children against measles. The Medical Center also directed the Health Stations of communes and wards to arrange 110 centralized vaccination points to ensure human resources, funding, supplies, equipment and vaccines; assign people to supervise and urge to speed up the vaccination progress.

Medical staff visit homes to examine and vaccinate children according to age groups.

Thanks to the timely and synchronous implementation of solutions, the vaccination campaign was completed in a short time (from March 17 to March 31, 2025). The measles epidemic in the town has been basically controlled.

According to statistics from the functional unit, the total number of subjects in the vaccination campaign is nearly 7,500, to date nearly 7,400 subjects have been vaccinated against measles, reaching over 95% of the plan. Of which, nearly 280 children from 6 months to under 9 months old, nearly 500 children from 1-5 years old, nearly 6,400 children from 6-10 years old, 220 people are medical staff at risk at medical examination and treatment facilities for measles patients... have been vaccinated.

In the coming time, Sa Pa Town Medical Center will continue to closely coordinate with relevant units, guide schools and locations with cases, continue to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures such as: monitoring, disinfection, isolation, personal protection, wearing masks, environmental sanitation; propaganda and communication in the community and schools; monitor and detect new cases and suspected cases at community treatment facilities and schools, especially new outbreaks for timely isolation and treatment according to regulations of the Ministry of Health...

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/sa-pa-ty-le-tiem-vac-xin-phong-benh-soi-dat-tren-95-post399698.html