Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco responded to the criticism leveled at her after the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency announced that children 12 of age and over can be vaccinated. She noted that vaccination remains voluntary and the children can be vaccinated only if their parents consent. The authorities do not insist on the vaccination of children as these do not develop severe forms of COVID-19 and do not represent a burden for the health system, IPN reports.
The minister said the authorities’ announcement concerning the vaccination of children aged 12 and up should not scare the parents as vaccination is not mandatory and no vaccination campaigns will be staged in education institutions.
“The Medicines and Medical Devices Agency gave its permission for the vaccination of children aged between 12 and 18 with this type of vaccine and we can say that the parents who want their children to be vaccinated can obtain this. I want to calm down the parents who consider that this decision is aggressive. No one will go with vaccines to schools. The parents who read, informed themselves and want their children to be immunized can do it,” Ala Nemerenco stated in the talk show “Moldova Live” on the public TV channel M1.
According to the minister, the actions taken by the authorities to promote the vaccine remain focused on adults as these most of the times develop severe forms of the disease that require hospitalization. The number of unvaccinated persons who are placed under intensive therapy has increased by 66%.
“The vaccination of children is not our major goal. When we speak about a vaccination rate of 70% to reach collective immunity, the calculations are based on the number of vaccinated grownups. Even if the children can transmit the infection from school to home or from home to the community o friends, we have an increase of only 3% in cases of infection among children. When we speak about vaccination, we aim at the adult population that creates massive pressure on intensive care units. Even if there are 1,000 parents who will agree to have their children vaccinated, this will not change the infection transmission course,” stated Ala Nemerenco.
According to the Ministry of Health, 25% of the people in Moldova get one vaccine dose, while 24% got both of the doses. The highest rate of vaccination with a completed series, of 36%, was recorded in the municipality of Chisinau, while the lowest one, of 14-15% – in the districts of Leova, Sângerei and ATU Gagauzia. Also, 90% of the health workers completed the vaccination series, contributing to an 85% decline in morbidity among them.
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