The flu season is about to begin. Many parents are already preparing to write vaccine refusals.
The anti-vaccine movement is expanding and gaining momentum. Everyone who is not lazy speaks out: people who have nothing to do with medicine generously share their speculations, women who practice child-free teach mothers how to live. Although the latter can be understood: if they are against children, then it is logical to stand up against vaccinations. And the flu epidemic is on the nose. Last year, about half of the country’s children were vaccinated against the virus. They plan to cover even more this year. But aren’t the forecasts too optimistic? After all, refusing vaccinations is a fashionable trend among parents.
The Ministry of Health is quite predictably concerned about the situation.
“We are trying to come to an agreement with the Social Insurance Fund to include some mechanisms, including material ones. For example, if a child gets sick through your fault, you refused to vaccinate him, maybe it makes sense that the sick leave is paid to you differently from everyone else, ”said the head of the Ministry, Veronika Skvortsova, on the air. .
That is, if a child falls ill with, say, measles or the flu, while he does not have vaccinations, it is likely that the father or mother will have to take practically leave at their own expense in order to take care of the child.
In addition, officials are concerned about the level of “vaccination literacy”. After all, there is so much talk about vaccines, and anyone can express an authoritative opinion, even a plumber. If only he was confident, then they would believe him. Therefore, the Ministry of Health decided to develop a law that would not allow distorting facts about the treatment of various diseases. After all, denying the existence of HIV cannot cure the disease …
Finally, Skvortsova tried to reassure her parents, assuring that the quality of vaccines in Russia is monitored in a way that is not monitored in any other country. Therefore, the likelihood of serious complications after vaccination is extremely low.
Anna Kuznetsova, the children’s ombudsman, has already spoken out against the initiative: “I understand the desire of the Ministry of Health to strengthen disease prevention, but I cannot agree with the initiative to punish the parents of unvaccinated children with unpaid sick leave. Ultimately, the children will suffer again – they will not receive proper care if the parent decides to stay at work, rather than sit with his son or daughter. In addition, this topic can provoke a completely understandable demand from parents to return funds for the treatment of children who have been vaccinated and, for example, sick, ”.
Here we recall that children under six years of age must be provided with medicines free of charge. In case, of course, if they were prescribed by a doctor.
By the way, this is not the first time that the initiative to punish anti-vaccine parents has surfaced in our country. Last year, Rospotrebnadzor proposed introducing criminal penalties for refusing to vaccinate. Fortunately, the initiative was rejected. Although some experts still believe that refusing vaccinations can be interpreted as leaving a child in danger. For example, polio can be contracted simply by drinking unboiled water.
“It’s amazing that there are parents who are ready to release their child into the world without protection. After all, if he gets sick, it is not the case that is to blame, the one who voluntarily refused this protection is to blame. That is, in fact, this is such a refusal to provide assistance, ”says doctor and popular blogger Ivan Pankratov.
By the way, in some countries, punishments for anti-vaccination people have already been introduced. In Australia, for example, benefits are denied for such freethinking. In Germany, they are fined, and at very substantial sums. In Italy, they will not be taken to kindergarten or school without vaccinations. So far, we have only one “fine” – the probability that the child will catch a dangerous virus.
Interview
Have you vaccinated your child? Are you going to do it in the future?
Yes, we do everything as the doctors recommend. They definitely understand this better than bloggers.
We do not vaccinate in the kindergarten, but follow our vaccination schedule
No! It is necessary to strengthen the child’s immunity, and not to stuff him with viruses