Health officials in Vietnam have begun administering the first vaccine against the Enterovirus 71 strain, a major cause of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). The rollout makes Vietnam the first nation in Southeast Asia to offer the vaccine, according to VNVC, a private healthcare provider. The product is intended for children aged two months to under six years, with a two- or three-dose schedule determined by the child’s age when vaccination starts.
High efficacy in clinical trials
Data from a Phase III clinical trial conducted in Vietnam indicates the vaccine has a 96.8 percent efficacy rate against EV71-associated HFMD, with no EV71 cases recorded among vaccinated participants. EV71 is the strain most associated with severe cases and deaths from the disease, often damaging the central nervous system. Dr. Nguyen An Nghia of Children’s Hospital 1 noted that patients can deteriorate from a mild illness to a critical condition within six to eight hours.
During the first day of the rollout, tens of thousands of registrations were recorded at nearly 300 VNVC centers nationwide, with children under three accounting for about 70 percent of the total. Nguyen Duc Quy of Hoa Hung Ward in Ho Chi Minh City brought his 23-month-old son, Nguyen Chi Minh Duc, to a center early in the morning. “My son often crawls around, puts objects and his hands in his mouth, while there are many young children in daycare, so the risk of infection has always worried our family,” Quy said.
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Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, a leading expert on pediatric infectious diseases, stated that the EV71 vaccine has been a solution specialists had been awaiting for years. He noted that during major outbreaks, the rapid increase in hospitalized children places greater pressure on the healthcare system. “Many parents have asked me over the years when a vaccine for HFMD would become available,” Dr. Khanh said.
Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, medical director of VNVC, explained that the company worked with Substipharm Biologics for several years to bring the vaccine to Vietnam. She noted that the company prepared its supply, storage, transportation and professional training systems before the nationwide rollout. Fabrice Baschiera, CEO of Substipharm Biologics, expressed satisfaction that the company could collaborate with VNVC to make the country the first in the region to offer the HFMD vaccine.