Vietnam Police Urged to Investigate Vaccine-related Deaths

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has asked the Ministry of Public Security to conduct an investigation into the post-vaccination deaths of three newborn babies in Vietnam’s central province of Quang Tri. In an urgent official letter Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien sent to Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, she asked to urgently make the investigations and make conclusions as soon as possible amid high public concerns over vaccine safety. The MoH had failed to identify the exact causes for the tragic deaths. The ministry’s initial investigation only found that the babies died of anaphylactic shocks. Ms. Tien added that there should be an independent and objective investigation conducted by other ministries to clarify the cases. The MoH earlier sent samples of the suspected vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) for further testing. Earlier, on July 20, three babies died at Huong Hoa District General Hospital in Quang Tri province about an hour after being vaccinated against hepatitis B, a domestically-made vaccine. Many local people are not keen on participating in the national immunization program as the country still records some deaths from anaphylactic shocks after vaccination. Vietnam has reported more than 27 related deaths over the past four years. (Phap Luat TP.HCM – HCM City Law July 28)