Are blood pressure checks still required during Vietnam’s vaccination drive?
Monday, September 13, 2021, 15:00 GMT+7
Many vaccine takers in Vietnam reported anxiety-induced blood pressure spikes during their pre-screening at the vaccination points, which impeded their inoculation process and, in turn, raised the question on the need for blood pressure checks in the ongoing vaccination campaign.
According to the Ministry of Health, their Agency of Medical Service Administration convened a meeting with experts in early September to seek consultation on the necessity of blood pressure measurement at vaccination venues.
The majority of the pundits at the event concurred that blood pressure examination should only be required for vaccine takers of 65 years old or above, or those with underlying medical conditions.
Considering the recommendations, the Ministry of Health issued an official document that allows vaccination spots to drop blood pressure checks from their screening procedure, starting September 10.
Previously, anxiety-induced blood pressure spikes during the pre-vaccination screening had prevented many fit residents from taking the inoculation, or required them to wait for hours until their conditions returned to normal.
“No records of COVID-19 vaccines’ side effects were linked to high blood pressure, according to World Health Organization (WHO)-approved studies,” a local expert said.
“WHO also did not suggest that people should not get the vaccine due to high blood pressure readings.
“However, there were reports of people who died from COVID-19 after being denied the vaccination seven times on grounds of high blood pressure.”
In the current scenario where Vietnam needs to push forward with the vaccination drive, the wait from blood pressure readings is holding the overall progress back.
It has been deemed unnecessary, and can even harbor transmission risks, if vaccine takers use the same blood pressure monitors.
Vietnam had administered over 32 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Sunday, including over one million injections on Saturday.
Some five million people have been fully vaccinated.
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