Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

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bmforre
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Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by bmforre » Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:18 pm

FAZ reports:
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inl ... 85407.html

Fines up to 2500 euro for failing to have vaccination.

Bundestag, the German parliament, just decided this by a large majority:
For the law 459 votes, 89 against, 105 abstaining.

This is not just a question of individual freedom, this is very much a question of taking responsibility and protect the most vulnerable, states Health minister Jens Spahn.

Applause.

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Fishnut
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by Fishnut » Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:40 pm

Hmmm, I'm not so keen on making vaccines mandatory, at least not until other efforts have been attempted first.

I don't read German so am reliant on Google Translate but apparently the article says,
According to official reports, more than 97 percent of the children received the first vaccination against measles, but only about 93 percent of schoolchildren received the important second.
Why that decline? That's not parents being anti-vaccine (unless 4% of kids are having adverse reactions that made them reconsider getting the booster), that sounds more like parents forgetting or not being able to easily access the booster. In the UK lower vaccination rates have been linked to higher mobility of families which makes keeping track of them and offering them timely appointments harder. Putting the onus on the individual while failing to recognise the societal causes of reduced vaccine uptake seems particularly ironic given the community aspect of vaccination.
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Aoui
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by Aoui » Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:40 pm

Good news for a change!! Wish they'd do the same in the Netherlands!

mikeh
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by mikeh » Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:42 pm

Interesting decision, given (according to that news report) MMR uptake was 97% for first dose, and 93% for second dose. Higher than most countries, including the UK.

Hopefully no adverse consequences ("I'm not having the government telling us what to do!" type scenarios) that might negatively impact on the vaccine uptake, given pretty much everyone was doing it anyway.

bmforre
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by bmforre » Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:24 pm

I see that a vaccination campaign in Hessen in Germany now use the concept: "Firewall for the body".
This may possibly help some doubters to accept: I believe few now argue for taking down firewalls for their electronic equipment.

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/ ... 81547.html

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Fishnut
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by Fishnut » Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:31 pm

I just don't see that there's any evidence of a significant minority of parents who are 'doubters' requiring persuasion, or any evidence that mandatory vaccination is an appropriate solution. As mikeh said, the vaccination rates are really high so why have such a draconian response to a modest fall? A fall that is, as has already been stated, in the booster vaccine not in the initial vaccination. Are the government doing anything to determine the causes of this fall? Are they making any efforts to facilitate parents getting access to the booster vaccine? Or are they just going to fine parents for experiencing problems with a system they have no control over?
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Re: Measles vaccination made mandatory in Germany.

Post by bmforre » Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:40 am

Some letters from readers point out that supporting health services have had funding significantly cut in recent years. Wonder where the money went?

There's another factor: Germany has taken in large numbers of immigrants and refugees. Considerably more than some in the US feel they need a Maginot or some-such-name wall to crawl behind for protection. Making vaccination documentation mandatory makes it that more difficult to blame immigrants for threatening German health.

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