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Germany Has Just Made Getting The Measles Vaccine Compulsory

Germany Has Just Made Getting The Measles Vaccine Compulsory

Parents who break the law will be fined up to €​2,500.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

German lawmakers have just passed a commonsense law that will hopefully protect people in the future for years to come.

The European country's parliament has made it mandatory for children to get the measles vaccine.

From August 2021, parents who don't get their kid the jab will face a fine of up to €2,500/$4,055.

Measles virus.
PA

Germany has faced more than 500 measles cases this year and the country hopes that spikes like this will be a thing of the past.

Health Minister Jens Spahn believes the law is 'child protection' and wants people within the country to support it.

"A measles infection is an unnecessary threat in 2019," he said.

The anti-vaccination movement has been growing across Europe, with Germany one of the hotbeds for having misinformation about the vaccine.

Health Minister Jens Spahn.
PA

The legislation was backed by nearly everyone except for the Green Party, who believes German people shouldn't be forced to do anything they don't want to do.

The party suggested there should be a large educational campaign explaining the benefits of getting the vaccination and quash misinformation surrounding the vaccine instead.

But it's not just children that have to show proof they've been immunised. Staff in childcare facilities including kindergartens, hospitals, asylum-seeker homes and holiday camps will also be required by the new law to be vaccinated.

In March, Italy introduced a similar law, banning children from entering school unless they could prove they had been given 10 vaccines.

The law means that parents are now putting themselves at risk of being fined up to €500 (£427/$810) if they do send their child to school unvaccinated.

PA

Children aged between six and 16 can't be turned away from attending school, but their parents can face fines if they don't ensure the necessary immunisations have been administered. A ban, however, will affect children under six who attend kindergarten and nursery without having received the vaccinations.

Health Minister Giulia Grillo told La Repubblica newspaper: "Now everyone has had time to catch up."

Ms Grillo added that the rules were now simple: "No vaccine, no school." She's not messing around.

Under Italy's Lorenzin law - named after the former health minister who introduced it - children must have a range of immunisations before they can attend school.

They include vaccinations for polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B, pertussis, measles, rubella, mumps, chicken pox and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

Children that are unable to be vaccinated due to medical conditions are exempt from the requirement and can therefore attend school.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News, Health