Bach Thi Chinh, a doctor with the Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC) Vaccination System, said many parents had proactively booked and reserved complete vaccine courses to ensure their children could follow the recommended schedule amid rising demand.
She said the large number of doses administered and vaccine courses reserved reflected growing public awareness of the disease’s dangers to children.
Parents take their children to a VNVC centre for vaccination (Photo: Minh Tam).
Truong Huu Khanh, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Infectious Diseases and former head of the Infectious Diseases and Neurology Department at Children’s Hospital 1, said he had followed the development of hand, foot and mouth disease vaccines in Vietnam.
“The fight to save children’s lives from the rapid and unpredictable progression of EV71 infections now has a new weapon,” Khanh said.
“I hope more children will gain access to the vaccine, receive it early and complete the full course. This would help reduce the burden of treatment and give parents greater peace of mind when their children attend school and take part in community activities,” he added.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is caused by enteroviruses and affects tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of people each year. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is among the strains most likely to cause severe illness, potentially leading to serious neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory complications and rapid death.
Cases typically peak between September and November each year. At present, several major referral hospitals are reporting a rapid rise in severe cases, with many children requiring mechanical ventilation and intensive care.
A vaccine against EV71-related hand, foot and mouth disease was licensed in Vietnam in March 2026. A phase three clinical trial involving more than 2,500 Vietnamese children reported nearly 97 per cent efficacy against the disease and 100 per cent efficacy in preventing hospitalisation. No cases or hospitalisations were recorded during the 600-day follow-up period.