Hundreds of parents queued for hours at the Institute for Control of Vaccines from early this morning (March 5) so their children could get a French-made vaccine that will protect them from a range of contagious diseases.

 Hundreds of parents surround vaccine institute

Only 300 doses of French-made 5-in-1 Pentaxim were available at the institute, and some parents waited outside from 1:00am, with more than 200 gathered by 4am, 90 minutes ahead of opening time. By 5am, the allotment had been filled and hundreds more late comers missed out.

 Many parents gather at 1am to be at the head of the queue

Recent outbreaks of measles and chickenpox have alerted parents of the need to get their children vaccinated, but stockpiles of vaccine have been exhausted. Though Vietnam can make single disease vaccines in large numbers, it cannot yet make the preferred 5-in1 or 6-in-1 vaccine, which require only one shot to immunize children against a wide range of diseases.

 Parents jostle to get access to the only 300 doses

The General Department of Preventive Medicine said there as a shortage of the complex vaccines and it had been trying to secure supplies overseas, but global demand was high. It urged parents not to wait for the single shot vaccine, but to get their children immunized without delay, even if multiple shots were required.