KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam has shot down his deputy’s call for immunisation to be made mandatory in Malaysia amid growing rates of vaccine refusals.
Instead, Dr Subramaniam said his ministry will continue efforts to educate Malaysians on the benefits of vaccinations for their health.
“Very few countries make vaccination mandatory. As a nation, we cannot enforce everything by law,” he was quoted as saying by The Star Online news portal today.
Citing the anti-vaccination movement as one of the three main problem groups in terms of vaccine uptake, the minister criticised the continued use of spurious religious reasons for refusing immunisation when religious authorities have already endorsed vaccinations.
Dr Subramaniam acknowledged, however, that the matter was sensitive and conceded that it was up to parents to decide if they will vaccinate their children.
“This makes me sad. They think it’s a decision for themselves but it actually affects society as a whole. They must realise that they don’t live on an island,” he was further quoted as saying.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said on Friday that the ministry is planning to make vaccinations compulsory, following the deadly rise in the country of diseases preventable by immunisation. The Health Department said the move could come as early as next year.
Five people, including three children under the age of 10, recently died from diphtheria, while the number of measles cases in Malaysia jumped by 340 per cent to 873 cases as of the first week of June compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the Health Ministry.
One often cited reason by the local anti-vaccination movement is that vaccines are not compatible with Islam, but religious leaders including the Muftis of several states have said it is mandatory for Muslims to give their children approved vaccines.
The message was repeated in this week’s Friday sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
