Doctor in Slovakia refuses treatment to Romani toddler because his mother was unvaccinated, he died shortly thereafter

The Markíza television channel in Slovakia reports that a four-year-old Romani boy has died after an asthma attack in Jarovnice u Sabinova, Slovakia. Prior to the attack, a local doctor refused to treat him because his mother was not vaccinated against COVID-19.  

The child, named Peter, had long been under treatment for asthma and had been hospitalized for it more than once. Two days before he died he was taken to the local pediatrician by his grandmother, who has been immunized.

The physician refused to allow the grandmother into the consulting room and examined Peter without her being present. Drugs were prescribed for the boy, but he did not improve. 

Peter's mother returned to the doctor with him two days later. The pediatrician refused to treat Peter because his mother was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

"He was doing badly, coughing. She could have sent him to the hospital, but she refused to examine him because his Mom was not vaccinated," neighbors of the family told the television channel.

Peter later suffered an asthma attack at home and collapsed. The emergency medical team who responded to the family's call were unable to help him.

"They were trying to revive him, but nothing more could be done," a woman from the Romani settlement told Markíza. When the physician was asked why she doesn't receive children whose family members are unvaccinated, her response was "No comment".

"The police have begun a criminal investigation into this matter," said Daniel Džobanik, spokesperson for the Regional Police. Women living in this particular Romani settlement in Slovakia have long complained that this doctor has insisted on people providing a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination in order to access treatment.