Polio vaccination rate in Ukraine is only 53%

The level of vaccination of children against poliomyelitis in Ukraine is only 53%, which is dangerous for public health, according to the National Center for Public Health of Ukraine.

“Today, all unvaccinated children under the age of five are under threat. Poliomyelitis can cause paralysis for life, and sometimes lead to death. I urge parents not to risk the health of their children,” the press service of the Center quotes the words of the chief sanitary doctor Ihor Kuzin, said during a briefing on World Polio Day.

In addition to him, representatives of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also called on to vaccinate children against polio.

“Poliomyelitis poses a threat to all children in any country in the world. It is very important that your children receive vaccinations according to the national calendar. There is no cure for polio, and vaccination is the only possible protection,”, head of the UNICEF office in Ukraine Murat Shahin said.

Polio is an infectious disease caused by poliovirus that spreads from person to person through feces and saliva that contaminate hands, food and water.

The course of the disease is characterized by damage to the central nervous system with further paralysis. The disease cannot be cured and can be fatal. Vaccination is the only way to prevent getting polio.

As reported, in early October in Ukraine, a case of paralysis was recorded and confirmed in a one and a half year old child from Rivne region. The paralysis was caused by a poliovirus infection.

The child’s parents deliberately refused the polio vaccine prescribed by medical standards for religious reasons.

Later it became known that an additional round of immunization of children against poliomyelitis would be held in Rivne region to prevent the spread of the disease in the region. The regional Commission on Environmental Safety, Manmade Disaster and Emergency Response also made a decision that unvaccinated children will not be allowed to study. They will be provided with other forms of education.