We strongly support childhood immunisation-statement from the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP)

Abstract

The eradication of smallpox and the elimination of several other infectious diseases from much of the world has provided convincing evidence that vaccines are among the most effective interventions for promoting health. The current scepticism about immunisation among members of the new US administration carries a risk of decreasing immunisation rates also in Europe. While only a small minority of the population are strongly anti-vaccine, their public activities have significantly influenced an uncertainty among the general population about both the safety of and the necessity for vaccination. Therefore, the EAP calls for greater publically available, scientifically supported information on vaccination, particularly targeted at health care providers, for the further development of electronically based immunisation information systems (IIS). We further call on all European countries to work together both in legislative and public health arenas in order to increase vaccination coverage among the paediatric population. In the interest of children and their parents, the EAP expresses its strong support for childhood immunisation and recommended vaccination schedules. We are prepared to work with governments and media and share the extensive evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and safety of vaccines.

Evaluating maternal and child health indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2018: what is Iran’s position?

“…Given the existence of regular, appropriate vaccination programs in Iran’s health systems, this trend is expected to increase. However, as seen in some other countries, the resistance to vaccination is worryingly increasing for reasons that have been described [28]. As part of Iran’s national vaccination program, children receive five doses of the DTP3 vaccine (at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 18 months of age and again at age 6 years).…”

Editorial Commentary on the paper “Mandatory vaccination in Europe”

“…Health care providers, especially those who work in primary care, play a significant role in increasing vaccination rates. Therefore, greater publicly available, scientifically supported information on vaccinations is of the utmost importance (17). Some essential practices from health care providers in order to contribute to the effort of increasing vaccination rates are the following: (I) usage of combination vaccines (18), (II) reminder of recall methods such as text messaging (19), (III) electronic record alerts, (IV) providing informative and educational material in the waiting area (20), (V) the implementation of standing orders for immunization to minimize missed chances for immunization (21).…”

The antivaccination movement and the perspectives of Polish parents

“…One of the most important elements of preventive health care in developmental age is vaccination [1][2][3][4]. The implementation of compulsory vaccinations among children may be affected by parental attitudes and their knowledge of the topic [5][6][7][8].…”

“…Since its origin in the 19 th century, vaccination has been beset by opponents, or anti-vaxxers [8,9,10]. Although the numbers of strong opponents have fallen, they nevertheless form a very socially active group, and have effective tools for popularizing their views, such as social media [2,4,5,9,[11][12][13][14][15]. While many Polish parents appear willing to obtain information on vaccination from such Internet sources, they tend to be more critical when assessing the quality of information received from a doctor [16].…”

“…The public questioning of the validity of vaccinations and their safety, often referred to as "antivaccine movements", has become such a threat to public health that paediatric societies have considered it necessary to undertake vaccination awareness activities [2,8]. It has been reported that antivaccination activities increase the numbers of parents refusing to vaccinate their children [1,11].…”