Germany’s health ministry proposed a new law against parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated. They will have to bring evidence that their children have received all the necessary vaccines. If they fail to bring this evidence, kindergartens will have to report them to the authorities, and the parents risk fines of up to €2,500 ($2,800).
- Germany wants to fine parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated.
- The new bill forces kindergartens to tell on parents who don’t bring vaccine evidence for their kids.
- This is an effort to mend the dwindling vaccination rates in Europe.
The German government wants to impose strict regulations concerning parents who avoid taking their children to vaccine consultations. These are mandatory for children who attend kindergarten, but the authorities could not find out who avoid these consultations. This bill offers a solution to this problem.
The law will be voted in the German Parliament on June 2nd, and will require kindergartens to report to the authorities the names of the parents who fail to bring evidence that their children are vaccinated. These parents risk to have their children expelled from daycare. However, some officials fear that forcing information out of kindergartens like that might violate the laws on data protection.
Germany is not the only country who wants to adopt stricter bills on immunization policies. Vaccination rates have dropped all over Europe, which was highlighted by a higher incidence of diseases such as mumps, chickenpox, and measles. For instance, the number of measles cases in 10 countries doubled only during the first two months of the year.
Measles might lead to serious complications, such as encephalitis, which could be avoided if the child receives a vaccine. This stigma revolving around vaccination is attributed to the belief that the MMR vaccine (mumps, measles, rubella) might cause autism. Despite the fact that many health experts have discredited this theory, many parents are still afraid and refuse to administer these shots to their kids.
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