Skopje, 18 March 2024 (MIA) - As of Monday, only children who have been administered three doses of the DTaP vaccine for the whooping cough (pertussis), along with the requirement for a booster shot in the next six months, will be allowed to attend kindergarten.

Health Minister Ilir Demiri took the decision last Friday, upon a recommendation of the Commission for Infectious Diseases.

The State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate carried out hundreds of emergency inspections in kindergartens over the past week and concluded that the decision to ban partially vaccinated children is being respected.

Inspectorate data shows that 50 percent of children in Skopje are not vaccinated, compared to the 95 percent in the rest of the country.

As of last week, DTaP vaccines are also available for adults.

The Public Health Institute (PHI) has said that 43 new pertussis cases have been registered in the course of the past week (March 8-14), bringing the total number of cases to 216.

Eighty-eight percent of cases (190) have been recorded in Skopje, followed by Tetovo (8), Kumanovo (5), Gostivar (3) etc.

MIA file photo