CALL FOR ‘NO JAB, NO SCHOOL’ POLICY
Introduce laws to force parents to vaccinate their kids, say health advocates
“NO vaccine, no school.” Health advocates say this should be applied to children whose parents refuse to allow them to be vaccinated.
The suggestion was made following the Health Ministry’s plan to present proposals and policies so that vaccination and immunisation are made compulsory.
Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association president Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail said it was time for immunisation to be made compulsory before children start schooling because children could be at risk of deadly diseases and an epidemic might occur if not handled properly.
“Immunisation vaccines are essential and should be made mandatory.
“It is serious because diseases such as diphtheria are serious and life-threatening, and can be passed on easily between people,” he said.
He was commenting on a statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad that the ministry would present proposals and policies for immunisation vaccines to be made compulsory.
He said the ministry had received strong “pressure” from various quarters, prompting the government to consider making immunisation vaccines compulsory, following the reluctance of some parents to vaccinate their children, thus causing them to be exposed to deadly diseases.
Currently, it is not compulsory or mandatory for children to be vaccinated before admission to school and it is up to the school to conduct further examination or verification.
Dr Shukri said if parents were adamant about sending their children to school without vaccination, the school can issue a letter of authorisation to health centres to vaccinate their children.
Malaysia I-MEDIC deputy president Professor Dr Azizi Ayob said the proposal to require children enrolling in school to produce immunisation records was good because it can prevent them from becoming agents of preventable diseases.
The author of Vaksin: Antara Babi, Yahudi & Konspirasi added that some private schools had such a prerequisite but not in government schools.
He also said there was a need to introduce laws for parents to comply with the immunisation schedule in the country so that “herd immunity” was achieved, that is 95 per cent of the community was vaccinated.
“We cannot ban the anti-vaccine groups because there is no law.
“Most of them communicate through social media.
“What can be done is to create awareness about the importance of vaccine jabs,” he said.
It was reported that five more children suspected of contracting diphtheria were now in the paediatric isolation ward of Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru.
All the children, including three girls, aged below 4 years, tested positive for diphtheria following the screening of 52 individuals by the State Health Department.
One of the victims is the older sister of a 2-year-old boy who died of suspected diphtheria on Tuesday.