Vietnam must be able to produce large amounts of multivalent vaccines in the coming years, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

He made the statement due to the fact that by 2019, the country will no longer receive aid from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) for 5-in-1 combination vaccines as part of the national Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI).

Vaccines produced at the state-owned Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1

Vietnam is one of the few countries in the region able to produce vaccines for humans, the Ministry of Health said, with 11 out of 12 vaccines for the EPI produced in the country.

However, the vaccines were all monovalent.

This calls for autonomous mass production of multivalent vaccines in the country, especially the acellular 5-in-1 combination vaccines, which will replace the 5-in-1 Quinvaxem vaccines that have been provided by GAVI.

To produce large amounts of multivalent vaccines, industrial factories for large-scale vaccine production are needed, according to representatives from the health, finance and science and technology ministries.

These facilities should be managed by a government agency, PM Phuc said during a meeting with other leaders last week. The agency should consist of experienced officials familiar with vaccine research and technologies, he said.

He said the Government would invest in developing core technology to produce multivalent vaccines.

An import-export policy consistent with international standards and Vietnam’s conditions should be developed alongside the research, he said.

Source: VNA