Although in general the statistics of vaccination of children are positive, there are some parents who do not want to allow their offspring to be vaccinated. The situation is explained by various reasons – doctors, misinformation and myths, and loss of confidence in vaccination after the covid pandemic are to blame. The Ministry of Health promises changes in requirements for doctors as well as parents if they refuse to vaccinate their children.
Good scores for younger children
In general, the level of immunization for children from one to seven years of age is high, and before the covid-pandemic, Latvia exceeded the indicators recommended by the European Health Organization in terms of vaccination against infectious diseases. During the Covid-19 period, a decline in vaccinations was marked, but now there is an increase again, Jana Feldmane, director of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health, outlined the situation at the meeting of the Saeima’s Public Health Subcommittee. She pointed out that since 2008, vaccinations against influenza, rotavirus, human papilloma virus (CPV) for both boys and girls, whooping cough, chicken pox have been included in the vaccination calendar. Bigger problems than the newly introduced vaccines are with vaccination against tuberculosis and rotavirus. Some of the decisions of the State Immunization Council on state-funded vaccines have also been implemented, such as the pertussis vaccine for pregnant women and teenagers and gender-neutral CPV, but there are still decisions that are hindered by lack of funding, such as the state-funded vaccine for children against tick-borne encephalitis or pneumococcal risk groups and seniors.
J. Feldmane emphasized: children at the age of one, two and seven have achieved good immunization rates, which are close to those recommended by the World Health Organization, including against pneumococcal infection, diphtheria and
Read the whole article in newspapers Day in the issue of Thursday, October 17! If you want to continue reading the newspaper in printed form, you can subscribe to it+