Romanian SocDem leader expresses “reservation” over compulsory vaccination project

Liviu Dragnea, the president of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD) and of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, said he had “great reservations” about the Health Ministry's draft law on vaccination, News.ro reported. “I have great reservations about compelling, about it being compulsory,” Dragnea said, quoted by News.ro. The draft law, currently under public debate, stipulates that children can join a school group only after showing documents that they have been given the compulsory vaccination shots. Parents need to take up written responsibility for refusing the vaccination of their children. When parents refuse to vaccinate their children, the concerned institutions can be called in “to establish bad treatment of a minor by their parents or legal guardians in case the minor is turning 3 and has not yet received the compulsory vaccines for their age,” according to the same project. Romania has been experiencing a measles outbreak, one of the largest in Europe, and reported over 3,400 cases and 17 deaths between January 2016 and March 10 of this year. Florian Bodog, the Health Minister, argued that the law project needs to be debated but “compulsory vaccination is the only option,” Hotnews.ro reported. He also said “Romania is in a full measles epidemic and one step away from catastrophe,” according to the same source. Zusana Jakab, a regional director with the World Health Organisation, said that “if the public health law will establish vaccination as compulsory before children join school, this will solve the problem” of the low immunization rates, Rfi.ro reported. She made the statement while in Bucharest to attend a debate on the topic of children immunization. Prime minister Sorin Grindeanu also expressed an opinion on the topic, saying he supports the idea of parents choosing what they think is best for their children, but not if these choices affect those around them, as is the case with the lack of immunization, News.ro reported. The prime minister also said he vaccinated both of his children although he had “problems” in finding the needed vaccine.