Contents
Polish children are vaccinated worse than their peers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Free vaccines are outdated, and parents have to pay for a lot of essentials themselves.
A Polish parent who wants to vaccinate a child in accordance with the standards in force in the EU has to spend from 2 thousand. up to 3 zloty. – What the state offers free of charge is at the level of the vaccination calendar of Belarus or Ukraine – says prof. Andrzej Radzikowski, head of the Clinic at the Children’s University Hospital in Warsaw. – Even Turkey has a vaccination calendar at Western European level. Innovations were introduced there when a pediatrician was the minister of health. We also have a pediatrician, but so far we have not seen any positive changes – adds Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski, head of the Foundation of the Institute of Infection Prevention in Warsaw.
Compulsory vaccinations for children in Poland
As part of compulsory vaccinations, outdated vaccines are used in Poland, which force the baby to sting repeatedly, instead of modern preparations that allow a single administration of vaccines against several diseases. Meanwhile, each injection is additional stress for the child. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a highly combined six-component vaccine (DTPa-HBV-IPV-Hib) is available in the mandatory vaccination program, and a five-component vaccine (DTPa-IPV-Hib) in Hungary. In Poland, however, children are vaccinated with three preparations separately, i.e. DTP (vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis), IPV vaccine (preventing Heine and Medin disease, i.e. viral palsy) and against Hib (bacteria causing pneumonia and meningitis). and sepsis). In addition, we vaccinate with an outdated version of the vaccine against whooping cough, the so-called whole cell vaccine, while a cellulose vaccine is available, which compared to whole cell vaccine is much less likely to cause so-called local and general post-vaccination reactions. In addition, XNUMX-year-olds vaccinated are still an outdated form of the live virus polio vaccine, for which there is a risk – albeit a small one – that they may become active. In young children, safer, so-called inactivated polio vaccines (IPV). However, at the age of six, the outdated polio vaccine is mandatory. You have to pay for the safer, inactivated one. The compulsory vaccination schedule also does not include vaccinations against pneumococci and meningococci, which can cause fatal sepsis, which are present in other countries.
Vaccination against pneumococci
For many years, pediatricians have been calling for the inclusion in the calendar of pneumococcal vaccination, which is used in Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In Poland, it was possible to introduce them only for risk groups. The World Health Organization has placed pneumococcal infections, next to malaria, at the top of the list of infectious diseases, the control and prevention of which should be given the highest priority. Pneumococcus is the most common cause of serious bacterial infections in children. They cause inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, acute otitis media, inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, and in some children and adults they can cause life-threatening sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia. It should be remembered that a complication of meningitis may be deafness, blindness, paralysis of the limbs and mental retardation. The effects of vaccination against pneumococci can be observed in Kielce, where it has been financed by the local government for 6 years. In 2005, 136 children (up to two years old) were hospitalized there due to pneumonia, and only 18 after five years of the program’s operation. the incidence of otitis media has also decreased. – We expect both parents and doctors free vaccination of all infants against pneumococci – emphasized prof. Maria Borszewska-Kornacka, head of the Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Clinic at the Clinical Hospital Fr. Anna Mazowiecka in Warsaw. There is also no funding for meningococcal vaccination in Poland. – Although meningococcal diseases are less common than those caused by pneumococci, their course is more electrifying. Children die on the way to the hospital, or during transport from the admission room to the ward – says prof. Radzikowski.
Rotavirus vaccination
Polish parents also have to pay for rotavirus vaccinations out of their own pocket. The diarrhea they cause can lead to dehydration very quickly, which in the case of infants and young children is a life-threatening condition. They lose not only water, but also electrolytes and elements necessary for the proper functioning of the body. Hospitalization of children in Poland due to rotaviruses costs PLN 70 million annually. – If the National Health Fund allocated this money to vaccinate the entire population of newborns from a given year, we would save children from the disease and its complications, and we would also save on indirect costs, such as the absence of parents of sick patients at work – explains Dr. Grzesiwoski.
Return of whooping cough
Despite widespread immunization of babies against whooping cough since 1950/60, the disease is returning. It can cause inflammation of the lungs, bronchi, kidneys, meninges and even death. It damages eyesight, hearing and brain tissue. In Poland, last year was a surprise, when the incidence increased almost threefold. Interestingly, more cases were observed in the older age groups and a decrease among the youngest. – The results of the research indicate that this is due to the loss of immunity with the passage of time from the last dose of the vaccine and the emergence of more toxinogenic strains of bacteria – says Prof. Janusz Ślusarczyk Head of the Chair and Department of Public Health of the Medical University of Warsaw. That is why the then governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, introduced compulsory vaccinations for all students in 2011. It is also recommended to vaccinate people who have contact with children – parents, siblings. Also in the European Union, more and more countries are introducing two booster doses for older children and adolescents. In Austria and Luxembourg, vaccination is recommended every 10 years after the age of 16. In Poland, a booster dose of whooping cough vaccines has been introduced since 2004 in children in the sixth year of life. – If the vaccine was reimbursed at least partially, it could contribute to the popularization of pertussis vaccination in groups of adolescents and adults – suggests prof. Ślusarczyk.
Polish Immunization Program
– It is embarrassing that the Polish Immunization Program is not only insufficient from the perspective of the USA, Canada or Western European countries, but it is also much poorer compared to the free vaccination schemes in the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary – outraged Prof. Andrzej Radzikowski. So what to do to make Polish children vaccinated at the European level and to reduce inequalities in access to vaccinations, because local government programs make it change depending on the place of residence? Experts believe that the solution could be placing vaccines on the lists of reimbursed drugs and at least partially covering their costs by the National Health Fund. Prof. Radzikowski says that in addition to compulsory vaccinations, vaccinations against hepatitis A among adolescents, hepatitis B vaccinations should be refunded in the case of every unvaccinated Pole, against pneumococci in children and the elderly, against meningococci and pertussis in adolescents. It is also necessary to educate doctors so that vaccination coverage in Poland is as high as possible. Vaccinations are not a matter of individual choice. The lower the vaccination coverage in the population, the greater the likelihood of infection and disease in those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons or for whom vaccination has proved unsuccessful. – Many doctors advise against vaccinating parents, because the toddler sneezes three times and sneezes all the time because he goes to nursery. And if, God forbid, there was a seizure incident with a fever, the child is exempt from vaccinations for the rest of his life. This should not be the case, emphasizes Dr. Piotr Albrech from the Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition for Children at the Medical University of Warsaw.