Anti-vaccine parents protest amid outbreak
KIEV: Around 200 anti-vaccine protesters rallied in central Kiev after authorities threatened to ban unvaccinated children from schools in Ukraine, which has been hit by a deadly measles outbreak.
Ukraine has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Europe and has recorded more than 57,000 measles cases since the start of the year, including 18 deaths.
This is a record number of cases since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
“I came here with my child to protect her right for education without vaccination, without injecting poison into her blood,” said 29-yearold Iryna Lazutkina, who was at the protest with her young daughter.
“Vaccination is a ticking time bomb,” she said on Thursday, suggesting it could lead to allergies, autoimmune diseases and cancer – claims not backed up by science.
Authorities blame distrust of vaccines among a section of the population, as well as an earlier shortage of medical supplies, for the current measles outbreak.
In mid-August, the government threatened to ban unvaccinated children from schools.
This year the health ministry held mass vaccinations in schools in areas most affected by the crisis.
Acting health minister Ulyana Suprun last week warned of the likelihood of diphtheria and tetanus outbreaks because of low vaccination rates.
But the protesters, many of them young parents with children, insisted they had the right to refuse vaccinations.
“I am for free choice and against discrimination,” said Alla Fedorchuk, a 25-year-old who travelled to the capital from the western city of Lutsk. — AFP