Four criteria for vaccine selection

Dr. Nguyen Thu Anh, Country Director of Woolcock Medical Research Institute in Vietnam, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Sydney University (Australia) emphasized four criteria for a successful vaccination program: the first is safe, second is effective, third is to achieve community immunity in the shortest time and fourth is to maintain community immunity.

According to her, following the permitted conditions, Vietnam should choose a safe and effective vaccine, suitable for each population group. To achieve community immunity in the shortest time, Vietnam needs to mobilize a nationwide vaccination system.

“In addition to fixed vaccination points, it is possible to study and set up mobile vaccination points but must ensure the safety of the people. The Ministry of Health is responsible for training and instructing immunization officers on how to handle adverse events during vaccination, and at the same time establishing a support system for lower-level vaccination sites. For example, arranging mobile ambulances to support many mobile vaccination points in that area” – Dr. Thu Anh suggested.

To ensure the maintenance of community immunity for a long time, according to Dr. Thu Anh, it is vital to have an effective vaccine for a long time. According to analytical forecasts of many world epidemiologists, immunity from the Covid vaccine may not be maintained for a lifetime and will have to be re-vaccinated every year. Therefore, Vietnam needs a strategy to ensure a long-term source of vaccines, and these vaccines must be selected based on the strains circulating in the world, not just based on the strains circulating in Vietnam. Because, when reopening, Vietnam will face the risk of “importing” Covid strains outside and spreading new epidemics in the community.

Source: https://fsppm.fulbright.edu.vn/vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/tin-tuc-fsppm/bai-2-chien-luoc-vaccine-than-toc-va-phep-thu-nang-luc-quan-tri-cua-nha-nuoc/