"Immunization is mandatory for all children" in Malaysia | #AsiaNewsNetwork



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Indeed, the two diseases – especially diphtheria, which would have caused the death of a two-year unvaccinated child in Johor Baru – are the most serious.

Dr. Zulkifli Ismail, Secretary General of the Pediatric Association for Asia and the Pacific, said that it was not necessary to have a general decision authorizing the vaccination against the 12 main diseases of the child.

"We can start by making vaccination against diphtheria and measles mandatory in order to enroll the child in school, and then extend this requirement to registration in the gardens. children and nurseries where groups of children gather.

"This would protect all children in schools, kindergartens and nurseries," said Dr. Zulkifli, chair of the Immunise4Life Technical Committee, an expert-led community education initiative. to promote vaccination.

For Dr. Zulkifli, at the present time, it is not mandatory to vaccinate children before they can enroll in school.

"However, most schools take care of checking. There is already an awareness, so we need to go further and state this as a policy, "he said.

Although it is mandatory to present a health card at registration, it is not mandatory that the child has been vaccinated before being allowed to go to school.

He was responding to a statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri, Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, who announced Saturday that she would submit a proposal and a policy to make vaccination vaccination mandatory.

The previous Barisan Nasional government had tried to make compulsory vaccination for preschool children a condition of schooling after a wave of child deaths from diphtheria in 2016.

However, the then Health Minister, Datuk Seri, MS Subramaniam, said the ministry would instead try to persuade parents to immunize their children.

Dr. Lee Boon Chye, Deputy Minister of Health, told IPOH that such a policy had been considered "but that it would be difficult to impose".

"It will be difficult when parents use their beliefs and religion (as reasons) if we want to enforce them," he said after launching an anti-Aedes mosquito campaign.

According to the Ministry of Health, inaccurate information on vaccination has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of vaccine preventable diseases, with measles cases having increased ten-fold from 125 in 2013 to 1,467 in the year. last.

An absence of vaccination was detected last year in the six registered measles deaths and in 19 of the 22 whooping cough (pertussis) deaths.

The president of the Malaysian Medical Association, Dr. Mohamed Namazie Ibrahim, said that vaccination could and should be made compulsory for certain types of childhood diseases for which vaccines were available and considered safe.

"For this to be mandatory, patients or parents must be well counseled.

"The advantages and disadvantages must be disclosed in such a way that the public is profane," he said.

Dr. Mohamed Namazie said there would be objections from "anti-vaxxers" who were against vaccination or who objected for ethical, political, medical safety and religious reasons.

He said that the countries that had made compulsory vaccination against certain obligatory diseases were France, Belgium and Italy.

"In countries with compulsory immunization legislation, unvaccinated children are not allowed in nurseries, preschools and kindergartens," said Dr. Mohamed Namazie.

The minister in the prime minister's department, Datuk Seri, Dr. Mujahid Yusof, said the federal territory Mufti had issued a fatwa stating that vaccines manufactured in Malaysia were halal (allowed).

Mujahid urged skeptics to debate whether vaccination vaccination was allowed in Islam to stop, adding that it affected children's health.

"In Islam, it is clear that the fatwa encourages Muslims to vaccinate their children, but it may be mandatory if this (non-vaccination) affects the health of children," he said.

https: //www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/02/25/vaccination-compulsory …

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