More Than 100,000 Vietnamese Children Vaccinated Against Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease at VNVC Two Weeks Into Rollout 

Author Lương Diễm Chinh

Published: 13/10/2026

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The VNVC Vaccination Center System began administering Vietnam’s first hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine on September 25, rapidly making vaccination available to children nationwide through its network of nearly 300 centers across 31 provinces and cities, from urban areas to rural communities. In just over two weeks, more than 100,000 children have received this important vaccine. Families have also proactively reserved vaccine doses to complete their children’s vaccination courses or ensure doses are available when their children become eligible for vaccination. 

Alongside expanding access to the vaccine, VNVC has quickly provided nearly VND 3 billion in vaccination cost support to enable many children to receive their vaccinations in full and on schedule at a time when the disease is on the rise and many localities are reporting cases and severe complications. 

Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Specialist Level I, Medical Director of the VNVC Vaccination Center System, said that, over two weeks into the rollout, VNVC had welcomed hundreds of thousands of visits from families bringing their children for vaccination and reserving the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine. 

“Many parents proactively ask doctors to prescribe the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine specifically and register to reserve the full vaccination course to ensure their children stay on schedule amid rising demand. Many families have also brought children who have recently recovered from the disease for medical examinations and vaccination consultations. This clearly demonstrates the community’s very high level of awareness of how dangerous this disease is for children,” Dr. Chinh stressed. 

On social media platforms, many parents have joyfully shared moments of their children receiving the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine as a parental “achievement” in completing a very important step to protect their children’s health during the peak disease season. For pediatric emergency and intensive care physicians, protecting children against the disease early also carries special significance. After years of witnessing children become severely or critically ill with hand, foot, and mouth disease, physicians now have greater hope that the vaccine will help reduce the risk of contracting the disease and limit severe cases and deaths. 

Dr. Truong Huu Khanh, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Infectious Diseases and former Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Neurology at Children’s Hospital 1, said he had followed the research on the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine in Vietnam. According to him, for infectious diseases that can trigger large-scale outbreaks and cause serious neurological complications in young children, such as those caused by the EV71 virus strain, personal and environmental hygiene measures are essential but cannot entirely eliminate the risk of contracting the disease. 

“The fight to save children’s lives from the rapid and unpredictable progression of EV71 disease now has a new weapon. We cannot forget the moments when we saw the anxious faces of families outside intensive care units. I hope more and more children will gain access to the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine, receive it early, and complete the full vaccination course, helping reduce the burden of treatment and giving parents greater peace of mind when their children attend school and participate in community activities,” Dr. Khanh said. 

Associate Professor Vu Huy Tru, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Pediatrics at Tam Anh General Hospital Ho Chi Minh City, warned against judging how dangerous hand, foot, and mouth disease is solely by rashes, blisters on the hands and feet, or ulcers in the mouth. EV71 can cause severe neurological complications, including encephalitis and brainstem encephalitis, leading to seizures, altered consciousness, and coma. It can also lead to respiratory failure, circulatory failure, and death within a short period. According to Associate Professor Tru, insufficient awareness of the risks and complacency about early symptoms may cause families to delay seeking medical attention for their children, missing the window for intervention. This can make treatment difficult and costly and increase the risk of serious consequences. 

Associate Professor Tru expressed hope that achieving vaccine coverage early would help reduce the risk of EV71-associated disease and limit severe cases, thereby reducing the treatment burden on families and the healthcare system. 

A representative of Switzerland-based Substipharm Biologics, which partnered with VNVC to bring the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine to Vietnam, praised VNVC’s rollout speed and capacity to organize vaccination. 

“We are very impressed by VNVC’s thorough preparations and the speed and professionalism with which it has rolled out the vaccine across its entire network, enabling many Vietnamese children to gain early access to an additional preventive measure. We hope that expanding vaccine access and ensuring complete, on-schedule vaccination will help reduce the burden of EV71-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease in Vietnam,” the Substipharm Biologics representative said. 

The ability to import, store, and distribute vaccines safely in accordance with international standards is a standout strength of the VNVC Vaccination Center System. Since its establishment, VNVC has made substantial investments in specialized cold rooms and a professional distribution and transportation network to proactively secure vaccine supply and ensure vaccine quality in accordance with the stringent requirements for this special category of biological products, helping ensure the safety of vaccine recipients. 

With nearly 10 years of experience rolling out more than 20 next-generation vaccines in Vietnam, VNVC can rapidly organize vaccine distribution, meet requirements for safe storage and transportation, and serve people nationwide, including in emergency situations. Its network of nearly 300 centers across 31 provinces and cities, extending from urban areas to wards and communes, enables children in many localities, including remote and hard-to-reach areas, to access the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine close to home, reducing travel time and costs. 

Before the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine rollout, doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers throughout the network had received training totaling hundreds of thousands of hours on vaccines, safe vaccination practices, and the management of post-vaccination reactions. This strong professional foundation enables VNVC to deliver safe, large-scale vaccination across hundreds of centers, adhere to established procedures, and maximize the vaccine’s protective effectiveness. VNVC has also increased the number of examination and vaccination stations, arranged services to continue through the midday period, and extended operating hours to reduce waiting times and respond promptly to families’ demand for child vaccination. 

Ms. Bui Yen Phuong and her husband brought their 22-month-old daughter to VNVC Tuyen Quang for hand, foot, and mouth disease and influenza vaccinations. Knowing that EV71 can cause children’s conditions to deteriorate rapidly, Ms. Phuong wanted her daughter to be protected early. The child also has a four-year-old sister who is currently experiencing allergies, so Ms. Phuong plans to bring her for vaccination the following week. What delighted the family was that the new vaccine was already available locally, at a center only about one kilometer from their home. 

“Ever since I learned that a hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine was available, I had been hoping my child could receive it soon. As a parent, hearing that the disease can become severe quickly is very worrying. I never expected the vaccine to be available even in a mountainous province. Our home is also close to VNVC, so we don’t have to take our child far away. Our whole family has been getting vaccinated at VNVC for years, so I feel reassured. Now that we have brought our child in for vaccination, my husband and I also feel more at ease,” Ms. Phuong said. 

In Buon Ma Thuot, Ms. Nguyen Nay Ngan, who belongs to the Gia Rai ethnic group, and her husband brought their three-year-old daughter, Phan Khanh Ngoc, to VNVC Ea Tam for vaccination. Ms. Nay Ngan said her daughter had contracted the disease twice when she was only two years old. Each time the child became ill, Ms. Nay Ngan had to monitor her for an entire week, anxiously worrying that her condition might deteriorate. She therefore hoped a vaccine would become available soon to protect her daughter against reinfection. When she learned that VNVC had begun administering the vaccine, she immediately registered and arranged with her husband to bring their daughter in for vaccination. “The center is only three kilometers from our home. I have carefully researched the vaccine’s origin and effectiveness, so I feel completely reassured,” Ms. Nay Ngan said. 

In Ca Mau, Vietnam’s southernmost province, VNVC has promptly made the hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine available, giving children an additional opportunity to receive early protection locally. Ms. Ngo Thanh Muoi, 43, and her husband brought their five-year-old son, Gia Minh, to VNVC Ca Mau for vaccination. Although their son had never contracted the disease, reports that many children in the area had become infected and required hospitalization worried Ms. Muoi, because hand, foot, and mouth disease is also very common among young children and can cause dangerous complications. 

“My husband and I researched the vaccine and discussed it with the doctor before deciding to have our child vaccinated. We hope this will give him additional protection during the disease season,” Ms. Muoi said. 

Hand, foot, and mouth disease remains a persistent challenge for child health and Vietnam’s healthcare system. The disease is caused by enteroviruses and circulates year-round, with tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of cases reported annually. Among these viruses, EV71 is the most dangerous strain and can cause serious neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory complications and rapid progression to critical illness in children. EV71 was previously identified as the main pathogen associated with the large outbreaks of 2011–2012, which caused the deaths of more than 200 children. In 2023, 31 children died. Since the beginning of this year, EV71 has also been identified as the predominant pathogen among severe cases requiring hospitalization. 

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, more than 110,000 cases and nearly 10 deaths have been recorded nationwide since the beginning of this year. September through November is the peak season for the disease. At Children’s Hospital 1, the number of severely ill pediatric patients has doubled, with many children requiring mechanical ventilation and intensive care. These circumstances underscore the need to strengthen early prevention to reduce the risk of severe disease and limit cases requiring emergency treatment and intensive care. 

The hand, foot, and mouth disease vaccine that helps protect against the EV71 virus strain was licensed for use by the Ministry of Health in March 2026. It is intended for children aged two months to under six years, with a schedule of two or three doses depending on the age at which vaccination begins. 

The vaccine is the result of more than 15 years of research by scientists worldwide. It underwent a Phase III clinical trial involving more than 2,500 Vietnamese children. The study showed vaccine efficacy of nearly 97% to 100% in preventing EV71-associated disease and hospitalization, with no cases of disease or hospitalization recorded during the 600-day post-vaccination follow-up period. 

Real-world experience with more than 600,000 vaccine doses administered in Taiwan also indicates that, since the vaccine was introduced in 2023, it has contributed significantly to reducing the burden of disease. Taiwan CDC has reported no cases of severe EV71-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease among vaccinated individuals from 2024 to date, whereas EV71 had previously been the main pathogen responsible for severe disease.

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