From October 1, all the children who were born after August 1 this year will be vaccinated against the pneumococcal infection that causes pneumonia, meningitis and otitis. The newborns will be vaccinated free in all the medical centers of the country. Until now, this type of vaccine wasn’t gratis.
Contacted by IPN, the head of the National Health Center’s Immunization Section Anatolie Melnic said that through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, there were bought about 66,000 vaccines to the value of almost US$245,000. 80% of the costs were covered by the Global Alliance, while 20% by the Ministry of Health.
The doctor said that the pneumonias in Moldova are one of the leading causes of death among children. A national vaccination plan was adopted and will start to be implemented this year. The vaccination is aimed at reducing the cases of infection and death among children by 20%. The immunization has three stages: at 2, 4 and 12 months.
Vitalie Secu, reanimatologist at the Mother and Child Center, said there are no risks or contraindications for the vaccine against the pneumococcal infection. Typical symptoms appear in 0.1% of the cases of immunization. The newborns who got an infection from the mother are a vulnerable group. The infections can develop following vaccination. The symptoms that can appear after immunization include respiratory failure, cough, skin pigmentation and fever. These symptoms are common for a large group of vaccines.
In 2012, about 14,000 children younger than two were diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchial pneumonia. Thirty-five children of under one suffering from such illnesses died.