Vaccination may become mandatory in Georgia
By Messenger Staff
Monday, August 7
Vaccinations may become mandatory in Georgia, Paata Imnadze, deputy director of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, stated.
The initiative is supported by the National Center for Disease Control, the Ministry of Health and a large part of the medical community, he said.
Among the opponents are lawyers who justified their position by claiming that the initiative constitutes the violation of human rights.
Imnadze explains that the issue of immunization is regulated by legislation in the developed world.
He said a child who is not vaccinated cannot receive an education in the United States.
In some European countries, the parent of such a child is fined approximately €2500.
"As in most developed countries of the world, we should have a legislative mechanism in Georgia too. If parents do not understand that their children should be vaccinated, society should protect itself from such parents.
“Conflict occurs between human rights activists and the rights of society. In this case, in all countries, - among them truly democratic countries –priority is given to social security. The fact that a child is vaccinated is not only for his/her individual protection, but in most cases, it is to protect the whole society from infections," Imnadze said.
According to him, the case concerns vaccines fully funded by the state.
Imnadze could not specify the exact date when vaccination may become mandatory in Georgia.
The issue is of the utmost importance as it concerns people’s health.
There were many cases when people died due to measles and other infections in Georgia.
One of the reasons why people avoid vaccination is fear over low quality vaccines.
This means the quality must be strongly controlled and the health ministry should provide a better information campaign to persuade people about the necessity of vaccinations.
