Hundreds of thousands of Russians across the country have already been vaccinated against influenza - the free campaign started at the end of August and will run until the end of autumn. At the same time, new controversies have flared up around the topic of compulsory vaccination of children. The Ministry of Health proposes to punish careless parents with a ruble. And those who agreed, on the contrary, financially encourage.
No decisions have been made on whether or not to punish parents for refusing to vaccinate their children. However, the debate about whether to vaccinate or not received a new impetus after the initiative of the Ministry of Health. Moreover, experts insist abroad that they have long passed from words to deeds.
“In some countries, they even deprive all social benefits of the parents of those children who refused to vaccinate, somewhere they reduce sick leave payments, if the child fell ill with a disease that could be prevented and he has no medical contraindications, somewhere they tighten rules for admission to kindergartens and schools. Naturally, the Ministry of Health will not take any action without consulting both the medical community and the parental community. Now the question is under discussion, there are no concrete decisions,”said Elena Baibarina, Director of the Department of Medical Care for Children and the Obstetrics Service of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
“The topic of childhood requires a very detailed individual approach, each child is a special situation, a special development. This is a special immune system. You need to be careful and understand the parents on the one hand. On the other hand, we understand the tasks of the Ministry of Health to strengthen work on the prevention of those diseases that exist today. Of course, another question will logically arise: and the parents of children who are sick, but they are vaccinated, somehow they will be compensated for the treatment, and so on? We can go far if we go in the direction of punishment,”says Anna Kuznetsova, the president's commissioner for children's rights.
In Russia, compulsory vaccination appeared simultaneously with the Leninist decree of 1919. By 1936, smallpox had been defeated. Children, however, were vaccinated against this disease until the end of the 70s. Everyone who was born after the war was vaccinated against tuberculosis, diphtheria and poliomyelitis. In 1957, the pertussis vaccine appeared in the first year of life and the mass vaccination of children under 5 years old. Mass vaccination against poliomyelitis soon began. In 1967, a tetanus shot was added - even high school students were given it. In 1968-1973, massive campaigns against measles began.
Gradually, the Soviet Union took the leading place in the world in terms of vaccination. Until 1987, immunization covered 95% of Soviet schoolchildren. And even the cartoons made it clear: without vaccination - nothing. For example, "The Hippopotamus Who Was Afraid of Vaccinations" directed by Leonid Amalrik, filmed at the Soyuzmultfilm studio in 1966.
But a year later, the issue was transferred under the control of the union republics, and in fact was placed on the list of minor ones. And already in the 90s - an outbreak of diphtheria was recorded in Russia. For the past thirteen years, parental consent has been required from parents - and not everyone gives it.
However, as doctors emphasize, even in seemingly prosperous Europe there is an outbreak of measles. In Italy, there are already two and a half thousand cases. Partly due to the influx of refugees. It is not surprising that vaccination of children against 12 diseases at once has become mandatory.
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Punishment for lack of vaccinations is discussed in Germany. And from the management of kindergartens there they are required to report parents who have not received advice on vaccination. France from next year urgently transfers recommended vaccinations to the category of mandatory ones.
And the situation is quite dramatic in neighboring Ukraine. The country, after the refusal from Russian drugs, according to the World Health Organization, was in last place in terms of vaccination in Europe. Meanwhile, domestic vaccines, according to the Ministry of Health, are becoming more and more perfect and practically do not give complications.
“Modern vaccines are less toxic and safer. This is highly recommended. This is good for the child. It is beneficial for the immunity of the child! - believes Marina Perenosova, allergist-immunologist.
“No persuasion, enlightenment, which in itself is very useful, unfortunately, has no effective effects. I believe that certain coercive measures are needed here. Since non-vaccination of a child is a socially dangerous act, it is necessary to introduce a mandatory vaccination, regardless of what is in the head of a person, his parents,”said Sergei Kalashnikov, a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.
According to him, if the compulsory vaccination is recognized by law, the punishment for its violation can also be condemned.
“I believe that the most optimal punishment is, of course, fines. But here you need to understand that fines hit the child as well, since they reduce the purchasing power of the family. Or some kind of social punishment like the same public works. We must start by guaranteeing the quality of the vaccinations. So that no one ever doubts that this vaccination and that you will not be injected with any infection that is not related to this vaccination due to the unscrupulous attitude of the nursing staff,”the parliamentarian said.
The Ministry of Health does not plan to act from a position of strength. The agency assures that it will not take any steps without consulting the medical and parental community.