Hanoi launches measles vaccination campaign for infants

A measles vaccination campaign for infants under 9 months of age is underway in Hanoi with the goal of inoculating 95% of eligible infants aged six to nine months, including non-residents, according to the Ministry of Health's (MOH) vaccine distribution. 

Starting in February, children are injected at medical stations which must be equipped with a mobile emergency response team to handle any post-vaccination reactions.

The Hanoi Department of Health has overseen vaccine storage and managed supply chain for post-vaccination monitoring. It is coordinating with the Department of Information and Communication to raise public awareness about the campaign, which comes in response to an increase in measles cases among infants under 9 months old.

This age group is outside the age range for vaccination under the national expanded immunization program and represents a significant portion of the capital city’s population, only following the group of 1-5 years old.

Leaders of Thanh Oai District Health Center in Hanoi inspect vaccine assurance work at Kim Bai Town Health Center. File Photo

Hanoi is a densely populated metropolis with high population mobility and is home to major hospitals that treat measles cases from across the country, putting the capital at risk for an outbreak.

The Hanoi Center for Disease Control said the city had recorded 327 cases of measles in 29 districts in more than a month. It noted that more cases are expected in the coming months.

As the measles epidemic escalates, the MOH announced the "2025 Measles Vaccination Campaign Implementation Plan" in early February to contain the outbreak.

Under the plan, the ministry is expanding vaccination efforts to include children aged 6 months to under 9 months in high-risk areas and regions with measles cases or outbreaks.

In addition, the vaccination campaign will target children aged 1 to 10 years in high-risk areas and regions with measles cases or outbreaks, as well as at-risk health-care workers in facilities that treat unimmunized measles patients.

Regarding measles vaccination for children from 6 months to under 9 months old in 24 provinces and cities, the MOH urged local health sector to continue to monitor and evaluate the epidemic development and available resources to have a proposal with the Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology about the measles vaccination roll out for this age group.

According to the ministry’s data, the number of suspected cases of measles positive continues to rise in localities. During the recent Lunar New Year holiday alone, about 1,600 cases of rash fever suspected of measles were recorded nationwide. No death was reported.