Ho Chi Minh City: Measles vaccination rate reaches safe level, but cases decrease slowly

Children in Ho Chi Minh City receive vaccinations against diseases - Photo: Xuan Mai

On the evening of October 1st, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health updated the latest situation regarding the measles vaccination campaign after one month of implementation and the number of cases in the city during the most recent week (September 23rd to 29th).

The measles outbreak is under control and unlikely to escalate into a major epidemic.

Accordingly, after one month of implementing the measles vaccination campaign, as of September 30th, the total number of doses administered reached 204,423 (including 42,049 doses for children aged 1-5 years, 140,886 doses for children aged 6-10 years, and 21,488 doses for other age groups), with 1,284 vaccination points across all localities in the area.

Specifically, the rate of children aged 1-5 years who have received both doses of the measles vaccine has theoretically reached 95.09% (including children who had already received both doses before the campaign). Thus, the city has basically completed the goal of the measles vaccination campaign.

According to the results of the review on the National Immunization System as of September 28th, the coverage rate of 2 doses of measles vaccine for children aged 1-5 years has reached 95.09% (including children who had already received 2 doses of measles vaccine before the campaign).

"This result will help control the measles outbreak in the city, making it unlikely to escalate into a major epidemic," the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health assessed.

According to the department, achieving these results was the effort of many departments, agencies, and organizations. The work of screening children, communication, and organizing safe vaccination sites has been implemented seriously and continuously throughout the past month.

In addition, this measles vaccination campaign has also mobilized the participation of the private vaccination system, helping to increase the number of vaccination points and making it more convenient for parents to take their children for vaccination, even on holidays and weekends.

The number of measles cases will decrease slowly.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health further stated that, according to survey results, out of 504 children, 135 were eligible for vaccination in this campaign (because they had not received both doses before August 31st). However, currently only 54% of children have been vaccinated between August 31st and September 30th.

This result reflects the reality that although the statistics show that the city has achieved measles vaccine coverage, due to population mobility, there are still children in the community who have not received catch-up vaccinations. Therefore, the actual vaccination coverage rate has not reached the protective threshold of 95%.

"This explains why a major measles outbreak might not occur in the city, but the number of cases will decrease slowly and clusters of cases may appear in areas with low vaccination rates," the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health assessed.

In fact, during week 39 (September 23-29), the city recorded 111 measles cases, a 25.8% increase compared to the average of the previous four weeks. The total number of cases accumulated from the beginning of the year to week 39 is 846.

In addition, the number of cases among children aged 9 to 12 months has not decreased in recent weeks, and most of these children have not been vaccinated, even though this age group is required to receive the first dose of the measles vaccine.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tp-hcm-ti-le-tiem-vac-xin-soi-dat-muc-an-toan-nhung-ca-mac-giam-cham-20241001190444859.htm