The anti-vax campaign has spread worldwide over the past years, with some parents believing vaccines to be unsafe for children. This has turned out, unsurprisingly, to be a dangerous idea, with some places experiencing measles outbreak due to unvaccinated children.
To take action against the irresponsible anti-vax campaign, some governments around the world have started to implement policies to either make vaccines obligatory or other measures regarding the implementation of vaccination. The Netherlands might pass this afternoon a proposal, specifying that daycare centres have the right to refuse unvaccinated children.
Proposal for daycare centres coming from D66
It is the political party D66 that has decided to push for this proposal in Parliament, reports NOS. The proposal initially did not garner political support, but D66 has made some amends. One of them is that children who are allergic to vaccines are exempt from the proposal, therefore they can still go to daycare centres unvaccinated.
As of the changes in the proposal, the PvdA is in favour, alongside the VVD and the PVV, thus garnering majority support in Parliament.
Not everyone fully supports the proposal. Some doctors have stated that there is a risk if unvaccinated children go to daycare centres which have no regulation on obligatory vaccination.
Obligatory vaccination to be implemented only if vaccination rates continue to fall
Two of the state secretaries in the Netherlands, the Van Ark (Social Affairs) and Blokhuis (Public Health), stated back in last October that they do not want yet to implement obligatory vaccination.
They are following advice given by the Vermeij committee, which considers that obligatory vaccination should be implemented only if the vaccination rate continues to go down.
Last October, the vaccination rate in the Netherlands was at 90.2 percent. The vaccination rate for measles was at 92.9 percent. The World Health Organization recommends a vaccination rate of 95 percent to avoid any risks.
Should obligatory vaccination be implemented in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments.
Feature Image: SELF Magazine/Wikimedia Commons
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