The information was given by Dr Tran Thi Nhi Ha, director of the Hanoi Department of Health.
Hanoi has suspended the use of two batches of Pfizer vaccines for Covid-19 prevention that had already expired on November 30
According to Ha, the department has received a large amount of parental concern over the use of these vaccine batches for their children. In response, the department has decided to halt the Ministry of Health’s consultations.
The two batches of the Pfizer vaccine (124001 and 123002) imported into Vietnam with an expiry date of November 30 were allocated for children aged between 12 and 17.
Professor Phan Trong Lan, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine, said the Drug Administration of Vietnam’s decision to use the two vaccine batches followed the permission of the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency on the three-month extension of the Pfizer vaccine.
However, the move has stirred public worry about safety, particularly among parents whose children are receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
Hanoi started giving Covid-19 vaccine for teenagers aged between 12-17 from November 23, using Pfizer vaccine.
On November 28, a 14-year-old girl in Hanoi and a 16-year-old boy in the northern Bac Giang Province died after receiving their first dose of the vaccine. The cause of their deaths has been identified as anaphylactic shock.
