Efforts to solve the vaccine crisis
The Government in Bucharest is preparing a multi-annual vaccine acquisition plan, and will set up a new structure to prevent a new vaccine crisis
Leyla Cheamil, 27.04.2017, 14:06
Are Bucharest authorities close to solving the vaccine crisis? For quite some time now, parents haven’t been able to inoculate their children due to the severe lack of vaccines in hospitals and drugstores. As a result, 38 out of 41 counties reported nearly 4,900 cases of measles so far. Over 20 children died to this disease or related complications.
Prime Minister Sorin Grideanu has recently had a meeting with Health Minister Florian Bodog. The two agreed on a multiannual vaccine acquisition plan, as well as on the setup of a new structure that should deal with the shortage of vaccines. Several batches of hexavalent and quadrivalent vaccines have already been distributed across the country, while the 10,000 measles vaccine shots recovered from distributors once exports were shut down will follow shortly.
Health Minister Florian Bodog: “I was reassured that early next month the vaccine will be brought to Romania. Additionally, we have identified a number of 10,000 shots which are already in the country, bound for export to Europe. These shots have now been reclaimed and we have started proceedings for their purchase”.
As regards vaccines against the Hepatitis B virus imported from Norway, Minister Florian Bodog said they will now undergo a certification process, adding that a variation of concentration has been discovered in this vaccine as compared to the levels used to manufacture the serum on the domestic market.
So far, the number of shots that have reached family physicians is less than half than the current demand, doctor Raluca Ghionaru, currently involved in an awareness-raising campaign regarding the benefits of vaccination, says: “My colleagues and I last week received about 25% of the necessary amount of hexavalent vaccines, which we requested from health authorities. We got half the amount of quadrivalent vaccines, and received no shots of MMR vaccine, considering we are still faced with an epidemic”.
In some cases the situation got worse due to parents refusing to inoculate their children. For this reason, family physicians have insisted on the need to carry out a campaign to raise public awareness towards the benefits and risks of vaccination. Doctors advise parents to have confidence in vaccines and their effectiveness, as these serums protect the young against severe illness. Doctors also pointed out that a drop in vaccination rates might over time lead to an increase in the occurrence rate of some diseases.
