Pentavalent vaccine ComBE Five to be used nationwide

HÀ NỘI — ComBE Five vaccine will be used nationwide to replace Quinvaxem from late December after it was tested in seven provinces, the Ministry of Health announced on December 18.

Produced by Indian vaccine manufacturer Biological E. Ltd., ComBE Five is a “five-in-one” vaccine that can help fight against five common, potentially fatal diseases affecting infants - diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B.

ComBE Five has received the World Health Organisation’s pre-qualification approval and more than 400 million doses of the vaccine have been administered to children in 43 countries and territories.

ComBE Five obtained a license from the Ministry of Health in May 2017 and since October this year, the vaccine has been administered to more than 17,300 children aged 2 – 4 months in the provinces of Hà Nam, Bắc Giang, Yên Bái, Kon Tum, Bình Định, Đồng Tháp and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu.

ComBE Five is a “five-in-one” vaccine that can help fight against five common, potentially fatal diseases affecting infants - diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B. — Photo cphi-online.com

The children were closely monitored in the three days after immunisation. About 5.5 per cent of the children had minor side effects while three others had severe reactions, including high temperature, seizures and trouble breathing. They were quickly treated.

In the past decade, the Korean-made Quinvaxem vaccine has been used in Việt Nam’s national expanded immunisation programme which offers free vaccination against dozens of diseases for babies from newborn to 36 months old.

Quinvaxem manufacturer Janssen has halted production worldwide. About five million doses of Quinvaxem are used yearly for about 1.7 million babies aged under 1 in Việt Nam.

According to health experts, ComBE Five has the same quality and ingredients as Quinvaxem. — VNS