Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam's top health official has affirmed that ensuring vaccines for the expanded vaccination prog▨ramme is a very important task for the health sector. Hoꦉwever, problems remain with getting the job done.

Currently, ensuring an adequate supply of Vitamin A for children and vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Programme are important healthcare campaigns for the sector. Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan gave an interview on the issues on June 1:

- On June 1, the Ministry of Health started the first campaign to supplement Vitamin A for children nationwide. Could you tell us whether the amount of Vitamin A is provided enough for children?

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan: To deploy the Vitamin A supplement campaign for children nationwide, the Ministry of Health has assigned implementing units🎀 to coordinate with donors to select medicine suppliers.

So far, the medicine has been imported to Vietnam and the Ministry of Health agencies have coordinated with cities and provinces to map out plans on the quantity, transport and storage to carry out the campaign. The campaign aims to enhance micronutrients and improve the health of Vietnamese children. Although there are many difficulties in ensuring supply, the amount of Vitamin A is enough for all of Vietnam's children.

-Currently, at many vaccination sites, there is a lack of vaccines for the Expanded Immunisation Programme, can you explain more about this situation?

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan: Ensuring a sufficient supp🅺ly of vaccines for the expanded immunization programme is a very important task of the health sector. For many years, the Ministry of Health has implemented the Expanded Imm✅unization Programmeme with 10 dangerous infectious diseases for children and women throughout the country.

In addition to achievements, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the health sector has seen many obstacles. We are also aware of this problem and with a major effort, the health sector has been sol𒐪ving problems in the field of expanded va൲ccination.

So far, we have overcome difficulties related to the Expanded Immunization Programme.

- Could the Minister specify the reasons behind these problems?

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan: In the 2016-2020 period, the Ministry of Health was given funds to conduct concentrated procurement of vaccines for the expanded vaccination programm👍e, anti-tuberculosi🗹s (TB) drugs, and anti-HIV drugs.

Between 2021 and 2022, the Ministry of Health was assigned an estimate for procurement to supply vaccines for the expanded vaccination programme for the two years 2021 and 2022. In 2022, the Covid-19 epidemic affected the implementation of programmes in many localities. Currently, the Ministry of Health has directed provinces and cities to deploy regular injections in the last months of the year and review children and women who have not received vaccines as per recommended childhood immunization schedule to administer supplementary and compensatory injections nationwide.   The Ministry of Health has requested the Ministry of Finance to develop a state budget estimate in 2023, such as purchasing vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Programme, anti-TB drugs, anti-HIV drugs, ARVs and vitamin A as well as to supply vaccines for localities. In particular, the Ministry has proposed to allocate funds to carry out the task of shifting from the target programme on health and population to buy vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Programme, and anti-TB drugs for those who do not have health insurance cards, ARV drugs and vitamin A for children. However, according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment, the Ministry of Health is not allowed to allocate funds to carry out this task. The Ministry of Health has also reviewed sourcing vaccines for 2022 to now. The Expanded Immunization Programme has provided a sufficient number of domestically produced vaccines for 2022 and it is enough until July 2023. Particularly, hepatitis B and tuberculosis vaccines are enough for demand until August 2023, while Japanese encephalitis vaccines, measles, rubella, and bOPV vaccines can cover demand until the third and fourth quarters of 2023 and tetanus and polio vaccines are adequate until the end of 2023. Currently, people can get vaccines from the Expanded Immunization Programme administered at vaccination venues in communes and wards. To ensure the supply of tuberculosis drugs, ARVs, and high-dose Vitamin A, the Ministry of Health has been working with donors and using available drug sources.

- The reality shows that at many vaccination venues nationwide, there is a shortage of 5-in-1 vaccine. What is the opinion of the Minister on this issue?

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan: 5-in-1 vaccines are given free of charge for young 🐭children. Additionally, other vaccination facilities are still trying to ensure a sufficient supply of vaccines for children.

The 5-in-1 imported vaccines bidding and procurement procedures were carried out in 2022 according to regulations, but no one took part in the bidding resulting in a shortage in the market. To ensure enough supply of vaccines in 2023, the Ministry of Health has worked with localities and has submitted to the Government a draft resolution on this content, then the Vietnamese Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Health to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to arrange funding and central budget of 2023 for the performance of procurement according to regulations. The Ministry of Health has aggregated all the needs of 63 cities and provinces related to the request to buy vaccines. In addition, the Ministry of Health has directed vaccine suppliers to review supply capacity, production capacity as well as determining prices according to regulations. Currently, we are trying to be proactive in the procurement process to ensure that we meet the requirements of the law on procurement. Thank you very much, Minister of Health!