A campaign to inform the population about the necessity of vaccinating the children and the risk of anti-vaccination campaigns is needed in Moldova. The national legislation should be made stricter by introducing penalties for parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated. The situation concerning measles was discussed in hearings staged by the Parliament’s commission on social protection, health and family, IPN reports.
The commission’s head Valentina Buliga said measles in Moldova spread owing to the low vaccination rate. The campaigns against vaccination intensified during the last few years and the population’s health is in danger as a result.
Secretary of state at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection Aliona Serbulenko said the Republic of Moldova was once free from measles and no cases of infection were recorded during many years. After the epidemic of 2002, drastic vaccination measures were taken and the rate rose to 96%. Owing to anti-vaccination campaigns based on religious reasons and myths, the rate fell to slightly over 87%. This situation had an impact on the health system. A vaccination case costs the state 45 lei, while a treated case between 2,000 and 7,000 lei.
Angela Kutasevich, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, said 7,349 unvaccinated children were out of school on September 7. One week later, the figure decreased to 5,664.
According to Nicolae Eşanu, secretary of state at the Ministry of Justice, the national legislation provides that the children should be mandatorily vaccinated. The state is obliged to take measures to ensure the protection of the population’s health, but there are insufficient penalties for the parents who refuse vaccination. The practice of the ECHR shows the right to the population’s health prevails if a case of non-vaccination poses a threat to the population.
National Public Health Agency vice director Nicolae Furtună said the information that the vaccines are not of a high quality is just a myth. Only a medical specialist can say if a child needs vaccination or not. A non-vaccinated child whose medical card specifies contraindications can attend school.
Marin Cij, of the Moldovan Metropolitan Church, said the church is not against vaccination, but the decision should be taken by the parents. Nicolae Creţu, of the Bessarabian Metropolitan Church, said they issued even a circular by which the priests were recommended to speak about the necessity of vaccination to combat measles during services. Sergey German, of Evangelical Baptist churches, noted the Evangelical Baptist Church does not ban vaccination and the statements that the parents refuse to vaccinate the children for religious reasons are false.
The doctors who attended the hearings said that when it is about an epidemic, it is not right to invoke the violation of the right to education. The explanation “My child is not vaccinated, while the others are vaccinated and there is no danger” is not plausible. In society, there are children when weren’t immunized for health reasons and these face big risks of catching the disease.
For her part, deputy head of the commission on social protection, health and family Valentina Stratan said the national legislation should be adjusted to the intentional one and the practice of developed states where the children do not have access to community, to studies if they are not vaccinated should be borrowed. Parents’ refusals are based on myths that are not justified and were combated.
