German Health Minister Jens Spahn is proposing fines equal to$2800 USD for parents who don’t vaccinate their children. Spahn says the move is part of his mission to “eradicate measles.”
Per a CNN report, Spahn says that kindergartner age children should be vaccinated or the non-compliant parents should be fined. As well, he believes non-vaccinated children should be banned from schools and daycares throughout Germany. He says “The goal is to ensure that people are immunized.”
Spahn’s proposed bill would also apply to adults who work in schools and healthcare, or other “public institutions.”
“We have been having this debate every few months over the past 10, 20 years,” Spahn stated in an interview with television broadcaster ZDF. “Whenever there is an outbreak and children or students have to be kept away from lessons, everyone says we could, we should do something – but not enough happens.”
Pending approval, Spahn’s bill will go into effect by 2020.
The WHO also issued it’s own warning regarding measles outbreaks.
“If outbreak response is not timely and comprehensive, the virus will find its way into more pockets of vulnerable individuals and potentially spread to additional countries within and beyond the region,” it said in a statement. “Every opportunity should be used to vaccinate susceptible children, adolescents, and adults.”