Among them, I was fortunate to meet and talk with Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan, Head of the Vaccination Department (School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University) - a female "companion leader" who persistently stuck to the "battlefield" in the vaccination campaign.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan, Head of Vaccination Department (School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University) - Photo: Vu Khoa
When you first took on the task of implementing COVID-19 vaccination - a completely new vaccine in the world and doing it for the first time in Vietnam, how worried were you?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: It is true that this vaccine is completely new in the world and Vietnam. At first, I also felt worried and anxious, because for the first time I was the leader of a vaccination team with more than 100 members participating and I may not have known each person. How to make the most specific, detailed and easy-to-understand plan for each department, how to make the departments from screening subjects, reception, screening, data entry, to injection, post-injection monitoring... coordinate smoothly and most effectively.
However, due to my experience in managing the vaccination clinic of the Institute and the School as well as having deployed vaccinations on many different customers, from young children to adults, pregnant women..., I have come up with a specific and meticulous plan for each task.
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Do you feel too pressured by work?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: It is true that when implementing the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, I had two huge pressures. It's the pressure of time and quantity.
For the first time, I managed the largest vaccination team ever, more than 100 people. The vaccination implementation this time is also very different from the previous one, as the subjects to be vaccinated are those participating in the front lines of epidemic prevention and those following central agencies and sometimes I am not proactive in the number, so there is a lot of pressure.
In terms of time, vaccination officers like us are always under pressure. This vaccine is very new and has a short shelf life, so you should get it as soon as possible.
Another pressure we face is to arrange units to come for vaccination on an hourly basis, ensuring social distancing. Some days, I have to arrange injections of 10-15 different units. Although the school informed the unit about the date and time to come for injection, many people did not arrive on time or in the shift that had been announced, thus affecting the unit that arrived later. Many people come but have not declared medical information, have not declared personal information, forgotten their ID cards...
Currently, the school is implementing 2 COVID-19 vaccination lines, with the number of injections ranging from 1,100,1,200 people/day.
To achieve this number, the school must prepare very carefully, so that the implementation can "run along the chain". Therefore, if any unit has the above cases, we will respond to the unit, we may even have to temporarily stop vaccination for that subject, to ensure time for the following units.
Due to the complicated epidemic situation, many colleagues and other forces across the country are also having to strain themselves to fight the epidemic. Therefore, despite the pressure and stress, we always encourage each other, which is also the responsibility and pride of the medical team. We always work with the most dedicated and responsible attitude to contribute to effectively fighting the epidemic nationwide.
Every day, the injection site at Hanoi Medical University injects 1,100-1,200 people. Photo: VGP/Vu Khoa
Is there a case where the injector reacts to the injection staff, ma'am?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: Although there were no harsh reactions, there were still some cases of frustration. Typically, there are cases where people come for injection and wonder if they have never had high blood pressure before, but they have been to the school's injection site 3 times and have had high blood pressure measured and have been instructed to postpone the injection. In this case, I have to gently explain that high blood pressure does not mean that injections cannot be avoided, but that it is only postponed. If you inject now, it will cause a reaction for you, because your blood pressure is currently not good. In order for the injector to trust me, I have to get another blood pressure monitor to measure it again for them. When they saw that many blood pressure monitors showed very high and abnormal blood pressure results, the injector calmed down.
I also advise that in this case you should see a doctor to find the cause of high blood pressure. There may be many cases of high blood pressure with unknown causes, but people should get treatment, because high blood pressure is very dangerous.
In another case, a healthcare worker had a history of allergies. Despite being thoroughly screened, the doctors ordered a postponement of the injection, but the person getting vaccinated was very upset. At that time, I had to deal with it and explain to them again why I didn't get vaccinated...
These are only cases where there is a very legitimate desire to be vaccinated against disease but there are indications to postpone vaccination. Although I sympathize with them, it also puts pressure on the medical staff during that meeting.
Currently, there are 5 types of COVID-19 vaccines arriving in Vietnam. How did you distribute the injections of these vaccines and how to avoid mistakes when injecting, as well as ensure safety when injecting people?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: To date, Hanoi Medical University has and is about to receive 4 types of COVID-19 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Sinopharm. As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, the school has been injecting it since April this year. Sinopharm vaccine is administered to a number of subjects in need according to regulations. There are 2 new vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, that the school has just received.
Before receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, we must train all staff involved in the vaccination line about these new vaccines. These are two vaccines that last only about 1 month but have different vaccination schedules. For Pfizer, within 31 days after the first injection, the second injection can be administered. However, with the Moderna vaccine, it must take 28 days or more to receive the second injection.
Up to now, according to the WHO, all COVID-19 vaccines are still very new so there is no recommendation to switch between 2 injections of 2 different types of vaccines. In our country, there are only instructions, if you get the 1st shot of AstraZeneca vaccine, when you get the 2nd shot, if you run out of AstraZeneca vaccine, then get the 2nd shot of Pfizer, but there is no conversion to any other vaccine.
In distributing vaccines to the subjects, we have agreed with all doctors that the vaccination process will be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Health and recommendations of the WHO. That is, for the AstraZeneca vaccine, if there is any left, the 2nd shot will be paid to the person who has received the 1st shot. If it runs out, the 2nd shot will be given to the person who has received the 1st shot (AstraZeneca vaccine) with the Pfizer vaccine. In case the first injection is Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, it must depend on the supply plan for this vaccine to Vietnam.
According to my experience of nearly 10 years of vaccination, in vaccination there are often many types of vaccines, from vaccines for children to vaccines for adults, all vaccinated on the same production line. In principle, the nurse must start with the doctor's orders, then the nurse must follow the doctor's instructions with clear content and the doctor's signature. This indication must also be informed to the customer such as what vaccine to inject, injection route... and the customer is the one who monitors this. This is a way to monitor so that no mistakes occur during vaccination, and is also the direction for us to plan the current COVID-19 vaccines.
The school will also divide vaccinations into different time frames, to minimize confusion and ensure physical distancing.
How can you better manage and regulate more than 100 employees, to ensure safe service for 1,200 people injecting/day?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: To carry out this campaign, the School and Hanoi Medical University Hospital have mobilized the total force of doctors in the concurrent vaccination line and newly graduated preventive medicine doctors. As for the post-injection emergency area, Hanoi Medical University Hospital arranges and arranges it. The outside screening area is attended by nurses from the hospital and the school... All forces receive very clear plans and tasks.
I always tell employees to put safety first, customer safety is their own safety, especially not to shortcut any step, even the smallest. Therefore, our entire current COVID-19 vaccination line is working very professionally. I no longer worry about expertise.
Up to this point, what are you most satisfied with?
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh Xuan: Our entire current vaccination team is very dedicated to their work. This is what I am most satisfied with. Even though it is very hard, working continuously from early morning to night, 7 days a week, we are still very dedicated to our work, no one has an indifferent or irresponsible attitude.
Thank you!
Vu Khoa (done)
Source: https://thanglong.chinhphu.vn/nu-%E2%80%98dai-doi-truong%E2%80%99-kien-tri-bam-%E2%80%98tran-dia%E2%80%99-trong-chien-dich-tiem-chung