Vietnam has successfully produced a combined vaccine against measles and rubella for the first time, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

The vaccine, which was made by the Ministry’s Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biology (POLYVAC) as part of a project with co-operation from the Japan International Co-operation Agency, places Vietnam in a group of 25 countries worldwide that can produce the antibiotic.

In addition, Vietnam is now the fourth country in Asia that can manufacture the vaccine, following Japan, India and China.

POLYVAC director Nguyen Dang Hien told the media on Tuesday that the measles-rubella vaccine has been tested on 756 healthy people aged 1 to 45 in the northern provinces of Ha Nam and Hoa Binh.

He added that the vaccine had met safety requirements.

Vietnamese children are expected to receive the vaccine free of charge from 2017 under the National Expanded Program on Immunisation, according to local media.

The country is aiming to eliminate measles in 2017 and put an end to rubella.

– TiVi Tuan-san