HCMC to start measles vaccination campaign

The one used in this campaign is the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine produced by the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (Polyvac) which is being used in the national expanded immunization program.

The priority groups for vaccination in this campaign are children aged 1 - 5 years living in HCMC, and high-risk children aged 6 - 16 years receiving treatment at hospitals, regardless of their vaccination history.

Others are children aged 6 - 10 who have not received the full dosage of the vaccine, healthcare workers at risk of exposure to measles, and those caring for high-risk children who have not been vaccinated or have not received the full measles vaccine dosage.

Children who have received a vaccine against this disease within the month prior to the campaign will not get the vaccine in this campaign.

The campaign is expected to contribute to protecting high-risk children who are more likely to experience severe complications from measles, such as those with congenital or chronic diseases including cardiovascular, kidney, hematological diseases, and children with immunodeficiency.

HCMC People’s Committee on Tuesday declared a measles outbreak across the city due to a rapid increase of the cases. It also issued a plan to proactively respond to the measles outbreak.