Refusal to vaccinate opens the door for the re-emergence of contagious diseases

Health Minister Alexandru Rafila has issued an important warning about the risks associated with refusing to vaccinate. He stressed that without vaccination, there is a danger of the re-emergence of contagious diseases once considered eradicated.

Rafila pointed out the paradox where vaccines become, in a way, victims of their own success, as diseases have disappeared as a result of immunizations and now people seem to underestimate the need for protection, Digi24  reports.

The minister added that the reduction in vaccination coverage has led to the measles epidemic in Romania and that this phenomenon is not specific to our country. In the context of the current epidemic, he explained that this is the consequence of the accumulation of a cohort of unvaccinated children, vulnerable and at risk of illness.

Rafila stressed the need for vigilance and noted that in a complex global context, with wars and problems with vaccination coverage in certain regions, it is crucial to ensure that children in Romania are protected. Vaccination, according to the minister, is a vital tool for preventing the recurrence of serious diseases and maintaining public health.

The Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday evening that it has declared a nationwide measles epidemic in order to make it possible to vaccinate children aged between 9 and 11 months, as well as to catch up those who have not been vaccinated or whose vaccination schedule is incomplete, given the worrying increase in measles cases and the high number of hospitalizations in pediatric and infectious diseases wards of infected children. "At the moment, there are almost 2,000 cases nationwide in 29 counties," the Health Ministry said in a statement.