The program to administer COVID-19 vaccinations to children has been paused in Thanh Hoa and Hanoi due to safety concerns. As reported by TrialSite, health regulators in Vietnam’s south-eastern provinces have stopped the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after more than 120 children were hospitalised following a school-wide vaccination. TrialSite also recently reported that a 15-year-old boy from Vietnam’s northern province died, the fourth paediatric death linked to the COVID-19 vaccine. TrialSite’s Southeast Asia correspondents investigate further.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved for use on children by the Vietnamese government. Children are divided into three age groups for vaccination: 3-11, 12-15, and 16-17 years old. The Ministry of Health predicted that by the fourth quarter of 2021, 95% of the 8.1 million youngsters aged 12 to 17 would have had two COVID-19 vaccine doses.
Vaccination Halted in Hanoi
A girl in Hanoi’s Thuong Tin District died only one day after vaccination in November. The cause of death was Grade IV anaphylaxis, according to the Post-Vaccination Events Expert Panel. Anaphylaxis is a set of symptoms caused by an allergic reaction to a foreign substance. The most severe form of anaphylaxis is Grade IV, which includes respiratory and cardiac collapse. However, it was concluded the case had nothing to do with the quality of the vaccine or vaccination methods.
The Hanoi Department of Health consequently spoke with the Ministry of Health regarding two batches of Pfizer vaccines, no. 124001 and 123002, which had been used to vaccinate students. These two batches were initially printed with an expiry date of November 30, 2021, but had their expiry extended to February 28, 2022.
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“After receiving feedback from parents, Hanoi stopped injecting the two vaccines and consulted the Ministry of Health, the other batches were injected normally,” said Director of the Hanoi Department of Health, Tran Thi Nhi Ha. The Hanoi Department of Health published a press release on December 1 verifying that the Covid-19 vaccine is still being administered to students in Hanoi. TrialSite reports that news media in North America and Europe kept far away from this story.
Thanh Hoa Follows Suit
Mobile injection sites are set up at schools in Thanh Hoa, south of Hanoi in the far northern reaches of this Southeast Asian nation. They primarily provide the COVID-19 vaccination to children in high schools, as well as students in vocational and continuing education institutes. However, more than 120 youngsters were hospitalised in the province for post-injection treatment. The provincial health department has taken steps to prevent injection of the suspect batches of vaccines, according to the international version of the VN Express, a popular online news media owned by FPT Group, the largest information technology service company in Vietnam.
Luong Ngoc Truong, head of the Thanh Hoa CDC, stated that use of the batch associated with the side effects was stopped, but vaccination of children with other batches, also Pfizer vaccines, would continue. He added that the suspended batch would be put into storage and could be used later for other groups like adults.
In the Vietnamese language version of the article, Truong refers to the symptoms as a form of “hysteria,” multiplying when children see other vaccinated children faint. Vu Van Chinh, director of the Ha Trung District General Hospital, agreed, suggesting that children who react or faint should be separated to avoid a chain reaction. He also reported that two children referred to his hospital were transferred to the provincial general hospital with convulsive symptoms. Undoubtedly these transfers represented more than simple “hysteria.”
TrialSite interviewed a Thanh Hoa resident. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, she said that the vaccination of children has been paused, but there have been no formal comments from the government indicating that the vaccination programme for children will be terminated altogether.
A Reluctant Public
Parents or guardians need to sign a consent form for students to participate in the vaccination program. Nguyen Huu Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City highlighted, “The health sector only injects when the family agrees to give the children the vaccine”.
However as of December 8, more than 1,000 parents in Nam Dinh province, also in the north, have not agreed to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19. This is mostly due to concern about the large number of vaccines in use in Nam Dinh province whose expiry dates have been extended. However, this figure represents less than 2% of the parents and guardians in the province.
An online survey of 6,000 young people in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2021 reported that the top three reasons for their reluctance or refusal to get vaccinated are the perceived necessity of the vaccination, concerns about the vaccine’s side effects, and a lack of access to information.
The Thanh Hoa resident said, “Parents are getting concerned. They want the government to at least slow down the rate of vaccines, to get more confirmation or investigation into the quality of the vaccine, and making sure that the children who are going to get vaccinated will be safe.”
An Incomplete Picture
Previously, TrialSite reported the fatality has been connected to the vaccine in the Vietnamese press. The National Health Ministry stated it was an “overreaction to the vaccine,” clarifying that the reaction was “not linked to the quality of the vaccine or the vaccination process.”
Other governments that have similar cases of vaccine reactions in young people have followed the same steps, assuring citizens that the deaths are unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine. Government authorities appear to be repeating a consistent message that vaccines are safe and effective.
The Vietnamese Socialist Republic has a tight grip on the media, with the government controlling all print and television channels. Journalists and bloggers are known to be subjected to harsh laws. Those who cover or comment on contentious matters run the danger of being intimidated or worse.
Pfizer and BioNTech released a statement on December 8 saying their preliminary laboratory investigations show that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are required to neutralize the Omicron variant.
The pharmaceutical companies press on with the development of a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron, which they hope to have accessible by March 2022. TrialSite will keep monitoring if there are further updates on the situation in Vietnam.