Italian politician against hospitalized vaccinations with chickenpox

Mbadimiliano Fedriga, a member of the far-right party of the Italian League, used Twitter to reveal that he was sick after spending the last four days in the hospital with chicken pox.

"I'm fine, I'm at home recovering and I thank everyone," he said.

But his revelation has since been flouted by social media users, calling him "karma" to catch the highly contagious infection – which can be deadly in adults – after his public opposition to mandatory vaccination against 12 diseases, including chicken pox.

Fedriga, president of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, admitted to vaccinating his children, but said at the time that it was not necessary to impose violence on the population, reported La Vanguardia.

And in response to the online reaction, Mr. Fedriga replied: "I have always said that I am in favor of vaccines and that to achieve the desired result, it is necessary to form an alliance with families and not to impose it.

"(The critics) even said that my children would give me chickenpox, not realizing that my children were vaccinated (as I said in many interviews)."

Leading microbiologist Roberto Burioni wrote on his Twitter that he wanted a speedy recovery from the president, adding that he was happy to have vaccinated his children, while explaining how the news of his hospitalization evoked usefully the topic of vaccinations in adults.

"(Mr. Fedriga), like many adults, has not been vaccinated … if he had been vaccinated in adulthood, he would be in perfect health," he said. Mr. Burioni wrote on his website, MedicalFacts.

He explained that if Mr. Fedriga had infected a pregnant woman, the result could result in an unwanted dismissal.

"The only way to avoid such tragedies is to vaccinate all of us to prevent the circulation of this dangerous virus, which could have touched a much more vulnerable person," Burioni said.

Mr. Burioni then informed the adults that they needed to be vaccinated.

"Not to protect others, but because – I guarantee you – chicken pox is a very contagious disease, and to consider it an adult is really very unpleasant," he said.

Many shared Mr. Burioni's views, adding that Mr. Fedriga was "ignorant".

"It can not be helped. He says we have to convince and not compel parents. He is ignorant, "said one person on Twitter.

The Lorenzin decree was introduced by the Italian government after a measles outbreak in 2017. It prevents unvaccinated children from going to nursery or preschool and imposes heavy fines on parents who fail not to immunize children of school age.

It allows parents of unvaccinated students to be fined from 100 euros ($ A160) to 500 euros (800 Australian dollars).

In an interview, Fedriga described the Democratic Party, the largest member of the ruling coalition government, as "Stalinist" for attempting to "impose" politics on the public.

According to data from the World Health Organization, Italy has not reached the recommended vaccination rate of 95%, with 165 cases of measles reported in January.

Currently in Australia, unvaccinated children are prohibited from enrollment in preschool institutions in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland under the No jab law. no play ».

Health authorities have also publicly warned anti-vaxxers against the dangers of non-protection against disease.

Originally published as "A Leading Anti-Vax Figure Against Chickenpox"