The coverage of children vaccinated with the MMR vaccine is the lowest since 1994, when immunization against measles, mumps and rubella was introduced in Montenegro, but also in comparison with all countries at the world level.
This is what the pediatrician said in a statement to "Vijesti". Nebojsa Kavarić, president of the Association for Preventive Pediatrics. He said that this fact makes our children aged 13 months to three years extremely vulnerable.
"In addition to the fact that it is important to determine why citizens' trust in the health system is so low and who is responsible for what when it comes to the promotion of immunization, at this moment we should focus on the possibility of disease and possible epidemics and prepare the system for that. I appeal to parents whose children are older than 13 months and have not been vaccinated, to immediately visit their chosen pediatrician", Kavarić pointed out.
He said that he wants to believe that smallpox will not be imported from the neighborhood, while he is professionally aware of how realistic the occurrence of this, for children of the earliest age, dangerous infectious disease is in Montenegro.
"Given that the infectious disease travels by the fastest means of transport from the point where it already exists to the point where it is transmitted, those half hours by plane make the arrival of measles in Montenegro certain, or already possible at this moment, and realistic," said Kavarić.
He also appealed to the media to use a professional, objective and affirmative approach to influence the creation of mutual trust between parents and health professionals and to contribute to the best possible response to a possible mass outbreak of measles, respecting the absolute right to privacy of every child and his family.
Six cases of smallpox were registered in Serbia during the past two days. This is why the "Dr. Milan Jovanović Batut" Institute for Public Health has tightened epidemic surveillance. The Institute announced that smallpox was registered in five unvaccinated children, under the age of two, and one adult (47), of unknown vaccination status. They explained that complications in the form of pneumonia have occurred in two affected children.
The "Batut" Institute said that the covid pandemic "undoubtedly affected the movements of other infectious diseases, including smallpox, in the territory of Europe".
They also stated that "during the pandemic, immunization with the MMR vaccine was interrupted or postponed in almost a quarter of the world's countries, and in a large number there was a significant drop in coverage."
They indicated that "during 2020 and 2021, the lowest values of MMR vaccine coverage in the last twenty years were registered in Serbia". They specified that "coverage with this vaccine in the second year of life in 2020 was 78,1 percent, and in 2021 it was only 74,8 percent."
They stated that data collection on MMR vaccine coverage in 2022 is ongoing.
Montenegro records much worse results when it comes to coverage of vaccinated children. According to available data, only 34 percent of children born in 2020 received the MMR vaccine. In July last year, the Institute for Public Health (IJZ) announced that only 12 percent of those born in 24 received the first dose of the MMR vaccine, which is given to children at the age of 2020 months. Among children born in 2019, only 40,88 percent were vaccinated, while two thirds of those born in 2018 received the MMR.
By comparison, just 11 years ago, the coverage of children who received the MMR vaccine was 91 percent.
According to the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases, vaccination is mandatory against ten diseases. These are tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, measles, epidemic mumps, rubella, viral hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B.
The same law stipulates that a physical person, as well as a parent, adoptive parent or guardian of a minor, will be fined for a misdemeanor in the amount of 100 to 2.000 euros if they refuse and do not allow a child of preschool and school age to be vaccinated against these diseases, except in the case of medical contraindications determined by a medical doctor or expert team...
"Vijesti" previously announced that during 2020, 2021 and last year, Montenegrin courts fined 94 parents for refusing to vaccinate their children, and the largest fine imposed was 800 euros.
In 2015, the Ministry of Health prepared a new law according to which unvaccinated children cannot be enrolled in kindergarten or school. However, due to the opposition of part of the public and the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, that provision was not included in the law, with the explanation that education and upbringing cannot be conditioned by vaccination. During the drafting of the new law in 2018, the Ombudsman institution reacted again, with the assessment that the provision specifying that parents are required to submit proof of vaccination when enrolling their children in kindergarten or primary school should be deleted.
However, legal solutions according to which vaccination is a prerequisite for enrollment in kindergarten or school are in force in more than ten European countries, most US states, and are particularly rigorous in California and Virginia.
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