The death of a four-year-old girl from diphtheria in Palermo has exposed resistance to vaccination in the Zen neighborhood on the outskirts of the Sicilian city. Her parents did not vaccinate her for fear that the vaccine would cause autism, and they are now being investigated for manslaughter. The child's pediatrician reported to authorities the difficulty in convincing families in the neighborhood, according to the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
The pediatrician attributed the refusal to a "deep-seated popular belief" that vaccines cause autism, leading many parents to reject mandatory immunizations. In Italy, some childhood vaccines are required by law and must be documented at school enrollment. Officials from ASP, the health authority in Palermo, state that many families only attach proof of scheduled vaccinations to their enrollment application, even though the vaccines were never administered.
Daniela Faraoni, former director of Asp and former head of the Sicilian regional health department, said that a specific plan for Zen was drawn up in the winter, but never came to fruition, leaving the problem in the hands of each pediatrician. The children's prosecutor Claudia Caramanna requested an urgent verification of vaccination records in daycare centers and primary schools, a scope that extends beyond Zen.
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Read the original article in Italian at Corriere della Sera.
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