Under a new Italian law, children up to the age of six can be turned away from nursery and kindergarten if parents cannot provide proof of vaccinations.
Under a new Italian law, children up to the age of six can be turned away from nursery and kindergarten if parents cannot provide proof of vaccinations.
Children aged between 6-16 cannot be excluded, however, parents now face a fine up to €500 if they send a child to school without a completed vaccination schedule from their doctor.
The ten compulsory vaccines include tetanus, mumps, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, polio, influenza B, whooping cough, Haemophilus and chicken pox. All of which are preventable diseases.
The Lorenzin Law, named after Italy's former health minister who originally introduced the law in 2017 now requests all children enrolled in Italian school must receive the 10 vaccines.
The deadline for providing proof of vaccinations to primary schools and nurseries was to come into effect on Sunday allowing parents enough time to catch up with the mandatory vaccination schedule but it was pushed to Monday as the date fell on a weekend.
The New York Times reported regional authorities sent letters of suspension to 300 parents in the Italian town of Bologna, however, it is believed a total of 5,000 children are not up to date with their vaccinations across Italy.
Italy: Parents protest mandatory vaccination policies as their children are denied access to school. https://t.co/qHMaYwAkLX— SaneVax (@SaneVaxx) March 13, 2019
While many parents worry the law will backfire, public health campaigners have welcomed the move but question whether the health system is equipped to meet demands with so many children currently out of school.
The new law came into effect following a surge in measles cases in recent years. Italian officials have since confirmed vaccination rates have increased since it was introduced over a year ago and has brought measles rates back towards the 95% population coverage rate recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
New law aims to raise Italy's plummeting vaccination rates from below 80% to World Health Organisation 95% target.95% is when "herd immunity" kicks in: when enough of population is vaccinated for spread of disease to be unlikely, thereby protecting those who can’t be vaccinated https://t.co/VVWbedSPiD
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) March 12, 2019
Italy enacts strict new vaccination law https://t.co/ltnp8ouQbi pic.twitter.com/Dm6HRhFthF— Philly Today (@215Today) March 13, 2019
According to the WHO: "Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health interventions available, saving millions of people from illness, disability and death each year."
"Effective and safe vaccines, which protect against a number of serious diseases, are available and many promising new vaccines are being developed."
"In the 21st century, every child has the right to live free from vaccine-preventable diseases, but these diseases still pose significant threats in the WHO European Region."
Kellie Kearney is a Dublin mammy of 4 kids aged 2, 3, 4 and 8 (and she is expecting baby #5 in May). A self-confessed procrastinator and picker-upper of things, Kellie would never turn down a coffee and she loves to travel and share every day true to life moments on Instagram of her expanding family. Follow her daily adventures on Instagram.
