Argentina sees rise in child hospitalisations as vaccination rates drop

Pediatrician Romina Giurfo warned that Argentina’s childhood vaccination coverage has fallen below the 90 percent target, leading to an increase in severe infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, diphtheria and whooping cough that require hospital admission. She cited recent cases of infants who were hospitalised or died because they had not received the full vaccine schedule.

Health officials explained that the law obliges vaccination and that, when parents refuse, the justice system can intervene. Legal adviser Milagros Piñeyro said judges may order compulsory vaccination after a health centre files a complaint and parents are given the chance to be informed. Failure to comply with a court order can be treated as a criminal offence. The measures aim to protect both the children and the wider community, which the law treats vaccines as a national public‑health good.