The number of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is on the rise. Parents say they fear the possible side effects of the medicine. According the National Public Health Center (CNSP), this has become a trend and at the moment about 5% of parents refuse to immunize their children. However, specialists stress that every child should be vaccinated because the risk of not doing it are higher than any possible side effects.
Ina Ganu, mother of a 3 year old, says she was okay with vaccines until she immunized her girl against polio and hepatitis. Since then, the child has spent more time in hospitals than outside. The woman told IPN that parents aren't properly informed about the side effects of vaccines. She recalls that when she asked the doctor to give her the vaccine's patient information leaflet, the doctor refused and told her that the manager's approval is needed first. “Why we the parents are asked only to sign papers where it's written that this could lead to death, and nobody's responsible?”, asked the mother.
Another parent, Vasile Toma, said that only their first child, a girl, was administered all the vaccines included in the national immunization program. The younger child wasn't inoculated because his elder sister had an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Now, the boy isn't admitted to kindergarten. Vasile Toma confirmed that in the agreement parents sign before immunization it's written that this can lead to death. “How can I, as a parent, sign such an agreement?”, said the man.
Anatol Melnic, head of the Special Prophylaxis Center within the CNSP, told IPN that lately more and more parents refuse to immunize their children and they often are religious people. “If we're to estimate, approximately 5% of parents refuse vaccination. This is a rising trend which has developed mostly after 2009”, said the doctor.
According to him, the risks of non-immunization are high and each non-vaccinated person is a potential disease-carrier. He gave the example of whooping cough, which lasts at least 6 weeks and can lead to various complications. Anatol Melnic said that cases of whooping cough are now more frequent precisely because of non-immunization. If in previous years, the number of patients was below 100, now the figures doubled and are on the rise, while many infections have lethal consequences. According to the doctor, parents should know that before vaccination, the child must pass a medical examination and if any sickness is found, it must be treated before immunization.
“Vaccines, like any medicine, but less frequently, can have side effects, which both parents and medical workers are afraid of, but it's a local reaction, a mild fever and some redness in the area where the vaccine was administered, and it passes without any medication. I have been working in the immunization program since 1983, and I have never heard of any deaths caused by vaccines”, said Melnic. According to him, cases when the children end up with disabilities are coincidences and caused by the fact that they had some conditions before the vaccine.
