As we announced last July, From January 1 of this year children born in France must be vaccinated as a condition for access to nurseries and schools. The galas authorities intend with this measure to end the decline in vaccination coverage that the country has, and which is one of the lowest in Europe.
Until now, the obligatory nature of vaccines in France was limited only to tetanus, diphtheria and polio, but as of this year children should receive eight more vaccines. The authorities have announced that they will carry out controls to verify that the measure is being followed correctly.
Mandatory vaccines rise from three to 11
As of January 1, 2018, Children born in France must receive 11 mandatory vaccines if they want to access schools, nurseries and holiday colonies, whether public or private.
Until now, health authorities only imposed the mandatory vaccination of three diseases: tetanus, diphtheria and polio. But as of this year the obligatory nature of eight more vaccines: whooping cough, haemophilus influenzae, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, meningitis, measles, mumps and rubella.
Currently, These 11 vaccines are only voluntarily put in 70% of French children, a percentage that is far from the 95% recommended by experts, making France one of the European countries with the lowest vaccination rates.
This fact has led to the health authorities galas to take action on the matter, and last July they announced these measures that would take effect as of January 1 of this year.
"I do not like to impose obligations, it does not go with my temperament, but with vaccination it is justified" - said the French Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn.
To verify that children are receiving the appropriate vaccines, health institutions have announced that they will carry out controls starting June 1.
Other countries in favor of mandatory
Italy is another European country that has also mandatory vaccination tax for all children between the ages of zero and six against 12 diseases. Not vaccinating implies both economic sanctions for parents and the inability to take children to nursery schools and nurseries.
Other European countries that have joined the mandatory vaccines are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary
On the other hand, in Australia, where for a while vaccination rates dropped to 90%, health authorities also decided to take action. Initially, the tax benefits were withdrawn to parents who did not vaccinate their children, but then it was decided to give one more twist by denying access to daycare centers for unvaccinated children.
As for Spain, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics publishes its recommended vaccine schedule every year, with updated news, but It is not mandatory, but a personal decision of each family.
At the moment, in our country the possibility of forcing parents to vaccinate their children is not being studied, and professionals prefer continue to convince families with the word and scientific arguments. On the other hand, and according to data from the Ministry of Health, Spain is one of the countries with the highest rates of childhood vaccination, so the population is very aware of the importance of vaccinating.
In any case, it is important to keep in mind that when the non-vaccination of some harms everyone, the problem goes beyond the sphere of personal decision to become a health problem that affects the entire population.
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Via EFE Salud, ConSalud
In Babies and More Childhood Vaccines
