We sanction about 100 people a year for deliberately thwarting the administration of vaccines from the mandatory immunization calendar. The initial amount of the fine is BGN 50. This was said by the chief state health inspector Assoc. Angel Kunchev.
He participated in a seminar dedicated to vaccines, within the framework of celebrating the European Immunization Week in Sapareva Banya. Associate Professor Kunchev specified that some of the offenders cannot be fined, while others skillfully hide, even pretending not to answer the phone number they answered yesterday.
The head of the “Communicable Disease Control“ to the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kremena Parmakova commented to “Telegraph” that the amount of the existing fines laid down in the Health Law is very small. “I understand from colleagues in the country that acts are issued to parents who have not immunized their children,” she said, quoted by “Telegraph”.
According to her, the amount should be increased, but legislative changes are needed for this purpose. “It should be seen that the idea of this fine is educational,” commented Dr. Parmakova.
She emphasized that there is no way to know if a child has actually been vaccinated, because the check is done on documents and what happened in the office remains between the parent and the doctor, but one of the sure indicators that this has happened is, that the child has a milder illness.
Dr. Parmakova announced that until now there are 387 officially reported cases of whooping cough in the country. “From the beginning of the year to April 21, there are 317, with new cases reported on Monday and Tuesday,”, she pointed out. 107 are the total cases of whooping cough in the age group of 10-14 years, but the highest incidence is reported among children, babies – 67/100,000 children under one year of age, with 38 patients in this group, the head specified. In the age group 5-9 years there are 71 cases or 23/100 thousand. In the group 1-4 years the incidence of whooping cough is 15 per hundred thousand, which is 34 children, and in the group 15-19 years the incidence is 12 per hundred thousand. which is 37 cases. Among people over 25 years of age, 27 have become ill.
She also pointed out that the largest number of sick people were reported in Sofia, and until April 21, data on whooping cough cases had not been received from 11 regions in the country, added Dr. Parmakova. It is not yet clear whether an epidemic will be declared and what recommendations the Acting Minister of Health will make.
The manager of the Bulgarian Association for Innovative Medicine, Dr. Valeri Tsekov, warned that due to low interest, the human papillomavirus vaccine program may be stopped. Immunization is given to girls between the ages of 10 and 13, with the plan to include boys as well.
„If this program once stops, it will be difficult to resuscitate it again”, he commented and added that the state invests in vaccines in which it is interested. He also pointed out that over 1,000 women of childbearing age die annually or 2-3 per day because they are not vaccinated.