Samoa has passed a law to make childhood vaccinations compulsory as the Pacific nation continues efforts to contain a devastating measles outbreak that by yesterday had killed 77 people, mostly infants.
The country introduced mandatory vaccination as part of a state of emergency declared last month, when the scale of infection sweeping through the 200,000-strong population became apparent.
The move, along with other drastic actions, such as shutting down the entire country for two days this month while mobile vaccination teams went door-to door, has succeeded in lifting immunization rates from about 30 percent to 94 percent.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said that compulsory vaccinations would now be a permanent part of Samoa’s healthcare system to safeguard against future epidemics.
He dubbed the legislation, which was passed by the Samoan Legislative Assembly on Tuesday and takes effect next month, the “law of love,” saying that it reflected Samoa’s commitment to its children.
“Government will no longer be standing on the sidelines,” Malielegaoi told the legislature. “Samoa is setting a milestone to which its foreign-country friends could follow to ensure the safety of our children.”
Under the law, parents who do not ensure their children are vaccinated, or falsify vaccination records, face fines of up to 10,000 tala (US$3,766).
Unvaccinated children would be barred from schools and principals who accept them also face 10,000 tala fines.
Village councils and schools are expected to have policies in place to ensure all children are vaccinated.
Organizations such as the WHO and the UN Children’s Fund have blamed the low immunization rates that left Samoa vulnerable to measles on anti-vaccination misinformation spread online by overseas-based activists.
Samoan authorities arrested one vocal anti-vaccination campaigner earlier this month and charged him with incitement as part of a government crackdown.
Other measles outbreaks in Pacific nations that had higher vaccination rates have been more easily contained and not resulted in any deaths.
The epidemic in Samoa is not over, even though infection rates and fatality numbers have decreased as a result of the mass vaccination push.
The government yesterday reported that there had been 53 new cases in the previous 24 hours, taking the total to 5,424, with the number of deaths rising by one to 77.
There are also 17 children critically ill in hospitals.
Infants are the most vulnerable to measles, which typically causes a rash and fever, but can also lead to brain damage and death.
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
RELAXED: After talks on Ukraine and trade, the French president met with students while his wife visited pandas, after the pair parted ways with their Chinese counterparts French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China yesterday in Chengdu, striking a more relaxed note after tough discussions on Ukraine and trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a day earlier. Far from the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing where the two leaders held talks, Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), showed Macron and his wife Brigitte around the centuries-old Dujiangyan Dam, a World Heritage Site set against the mountainous landscape of Sichuan Province. Macron was told through an interpreter about the ancient irrigation system, which dates back to the third century
RSS