As part of its regular activities, the HKLD Branch in Osijek organized a lecture by Vlatka Krizmanić, MD, specialist in pediatrics, Do we have doubts about vaccination? – which took place on May 12, 2025 at 7 p.m. in the Vicariate in Osijek

At the beginning, we were greeted by the Branch’s spiritual director, Rev. Davor Vuković, who led the prayer, and the Branch’s president, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Jadranka Arambašić, who greeted everyone present and thanked the lecturer.

At the beginning of her presentation, Dr. Krizmanić repeated the basic definitions of vaccination and reviewed the history of its introduction into the mandatory vaccination program. She then introduced us to a recently published study by the World Health Organization (WHO) that evaluated the contribution of vaccination to improving survival and health: modeling 50 years of the Expanded Program on Immunization. Namely, the World Health Assembly established the Expanded Program on Immunization in May 1974. The number of deaths prevented, years of life gained, and years of full health (i.e., disability-adjusted life years prevented) by vaccination against 14 pathogens was estimated.

It was concluded that vaccination was responsible for a 40% lower mortality rate in infants. 154 million lives were saved, of which 95% were in children under 5 years of age. Vaccination against measles contributed most to the reduction in infant mortality. The study found that in 2024, both children and adults were more likely to survive to their next birthday than if there had been no vaccination since 1974. The second study tracked the health and economic benefits of routine childhood vaccination in the era of the Vaccines for Children program — United States, 1994–2023.

Namely, since 1994, the US Vaccines for Children (VFC) program has covered the costs of childhood vaccines and made vaccination available to the wider population. Among the approximately 117 million children born between 1994 and 2023, routine childhood vaccination prevented approximately 508 million cases of disease during their lifetime, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths. It was concluded that $1 spent on vaccination results in a savings of $11. Finally, the lecturer presented the latest vaccination schedule in the Republic of Croatia.

The lecture was followed by a very interesting and fruitful discussion, after which we stayed for a friendly gathering and snacks, for which we would like to thank our spiritual director, Rev. Davor Vuković.

Dr. Anamarija Čondor

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THE CROATIAN CATHOLIC MEDICAL SOCIETY (HKLD) IS A CATHOLIC PROFESSIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER DOCTORS OF MEDICINE, DOCTORS OF DENTAL MEDICINE, MASTERS OF PHARMACY, MASTERS OF MEDICAL BIOCHEMISTRY AND OTHER HIGHLY EDUCATED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. READ MORE…

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