Children Vaccination Might Become Obligatory
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, April 24
Chair of the Healthcare Committee of the Georgian Parliament, Akaki Zoidze believes vaccination of children should be mandatory.
Zoidze says the issue must be regulated by relevant law amendments. According to him, immunization protects children from mortality and many other diseases , however, many parents do not get their children vaccinated because it is not obligatory.
“In some European countries, children who were not vaccinated are not admitted to kindergartens or schools. I am in favor of such regulations because vaccination is an indispensable method to protect our children's health.
“By refusing vaccination, some parents harm the health not only of their children but of the others as well. We must put end to such practice. The health of each citizen and child is of utmost importance,” he added.
According to the Chair of the Healthcare Committee of the Parliament, along with the already existed vaccinations, new ones will also be introduced, like anti-papilloma virus immunization.
Around 14 million people die from infectious diseases every year in the world. More than half of them are children under 5.
Some infectious diseases, for example, Poliomyelitis, no longer exist in Georgia, but there is still a threat that the disease will spread from other countries. Diphtheria also almost no longer exists in the country, but due to improper and poor-immunization, the disease became very common around 10 years ago.
The National Calendar of Vaccination includes 12 vaccines in Georgia. Children are vaccinated against following infections: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, rubella, mumps, poliomyelitis, rotavirus infections, etc. These diseases can cause very severe complications if children are not vaccinated on time.
