A six-month old baby girl in the northern province of Bac Giang died on Thursday after being vaccinated with the “5-in-1” Quinvaxem vaccine. This death is the latest fatality following child vaccinations since the vaccine was used again last October after months of suspension.

>> Another baby dies after Quinvaxem vaccination  >> 15 infants die after Quinvaxem vaccination this year>> 113 Hanoi children suffer side effects of Quinvaxem vaccination The dead baby was Vu Dinh Tuong V., who died on the early morning of March 20, twelve hours after being vaccinated with Quinvaxem, which is used to prevent five common, potentially fatal childhood diseases: diphtheria (D), tetanus (T), pertussis (P, whooping cough), hepatitis B (HepB), and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib). V. received the vaccination at 10:00 am on March 19 at a health station in Luc Nam District, and in the afternoon, her limbs turned cold and she excessively sweated and writhed in pain, according to Vu Van Hiep, the baby’s father. The baby was taken to the district hospital and was then transferred to the Bac Giang General Hospital where she died later, Hiep said. V.’s medical record did not specified the reason why she died, but doctors said she suffered from an innate heart disease, the father said, adding that the baby had not had any health problem since her birth.Over 60 deaths since 2007 V.’s death is the fourth among the children vaccinated with the Korean vaccine since it was used again in October 2013, after five months of suspension. The third death occurred on January 15 this year and the victim was a 3-month-old boy, Tran Le Nguyen, from the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, who died at a local hospital one day after being vaccinated with Quinvaxem. Dr. Tran Xuan Hoa, deputy head of the Pediatrics Department of the hospital, said the boy was hospitalized when he had stopped breathing, his entire body had turned blue, and his pulse had become irregular. According to statistics, more than 60 children have died after being vaccinated with Quinvaxem since 2007.  In May 2013, the Health Ministry suspended the vaccine to verify its safeness.

Five months later, the ministry re-used the vaccine for the National Extended Vaccination Program (NEVP) after investigation showed that it was safe. According to Nguyen Tran Hien, head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and chairman of the NEVP, the results of the investigation indicated that there were no unsafe cases in relation to the use of this vaccine. Hien explained most of the complications after vaccination were caused by other factors, not the vaccine itself.Safe for use: WHO, UNICEF On December 19, 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF jointly confirmed that the “5 in 1” Quinvaxem vaccine, suspected of playing a role in children’s deaths post-vaccination, is safe to use. The joint confirmation was issued after the results of an investigation into the vaccine showed that it meets “the highest global standards,” according to WHO and UNICEF. The two international organizations said that they had helped Vietnam conduct the investigation into the safety of Quinvaxem with independent technical assistance, both locally and abroad. WHO and UNICEF then released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Quinvaxem vaccine. For the question “Is Quinvaxem safe?” the reply is: “Yes.” The two organizations said that like all vaccines, Quinvaxem can have some mild side effects.

They include low grade fever, localized swelling, and general short-term discomfort, they said. In a very rare number of cases, less than one per million, a child can have a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, the two organizations said, adding health care providers are to be trained to respond and if prompt medical treatment is given, the child can make a full recovery.