Sanofi Vietnam and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City have signed a partnership agreement to implement a training strategy entitled “Vaccinology and Life-course Immunisation” for healthcare professionals in Viet Nam from 2023 to 2025.

Speaking at the signing ceremony on November 17, Nguyen Vu Trung, director of the Pasteur Institute in HCM City, said the training programme will provide healthcare professionals updates on fundamental matters regarding advisory, storage and vaccination.

"This contributes to implementing knowledge without delay and improving the prevention of infectious diseases through vaccines,” Trung said.

The three-year collaboration aims to provide knowledge to 1,000 healthcare professionals each year.

The training programme will arm medical staff with knowledge about immunology, vaccinology and life-course immunization in order to properly advise and vaccinate people of different ages.

It should also help raise the community’s trust in vaccination and improve immunisation coverage rates of all ages.

It will be implemented through an online conference, which allows all medical staff across the country to easily participate.

It will have practical topics such as vaccinology and immunology 101, vaccination for infants and toddlers, vaccination for children and adolescents, vaccination for adults and tourists, vaccination for moms-to-be and particular demographic groups, safety in vaccinations, vaccine storage and handling resources, and effective vaccine advice for all ages.

David Tick, general manager of Vaccines at Sanofi Vietnam, said vaccines are protecting people from infectious diseases.

“Our ultimate goal is to raise the awareness of healthcare professionals and Vietnamese people of the value of vaccines, and carry on the mission of improving immunisation coverage rate and healthcare for Vietnamese people,” he said.

In reality, Viet Nam does not officially have any recommended life-course immunisation schedule for people in different age groups.

Life-course immunisation is not comprehensively implemented and trained for when medical staff give vaccinations.

Immunisation coverage rates for children, adolescents and adults to people at higher risk remain relatively low.

Pasteur Institute in HCM City is one of the clinics under the Ministry of Health that provides preventive and public health services that meet society’s demands in the southern region and other assigned local areas.

Sanofi is a leading firm in science research and development in the field of vaccination. — VNS