Children's Vaccination to Become Mandatory from June 2019

Chair of the Healthcare Committee of the Georgian Parliament, Akaki Zoidze, says the vaccination of children will become obligatory from June 1, 2019.

He noted the period before the summer is required to make certain regulations to the law.

The Georgian Parliament has already adopted the vaccination bill, which means that from summer 2019 parents may face penalties if they refuse to vaccinate their children.

“Vaccination is a unique opportunity to avoid illnesses which pose serious threats to our children’s life and health. These illnesses are measles, pneumococcal infections, and others, which are easily avoidable by the quality and free vaccines in Georgia,” Zoidze said. 

He explained that 10 types of vaccination were previously of a recommendation kind, now it is said in the law that it is mandatory to take children to vaccination.

The National Calendar of Vaccination includes 10 vaccines in Georgia. Children are vaccinated against the following infections: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, rubella, mumps, poliomyelitis, rotavirus infections, etc. These diseases can cause very severe complications if children are not vaccinated on time. 

Around 14 million people die from infectious diseases every year in the world. More than half of them are children under 5. 

By Thea Morrison