The plans for measles vaccination in Germany are becoming more concrete. At the beginning of May, a proposal from the responsible Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) is expected. He has spoken out in favor of compulsory measles vaccinations for children in kindergartens and schools. The SPD also pleads for it. However, the CSU chairman Markus Söder is skeptical.
There is currently no single position among the countries. Some want to wait for the proposal of the federal government. In addition to the Brandenburg state parliament, North Rhine-Westphalia provincial government decided to introduce a compulsory vaccination. Currently, the country is still testing.
SPD chairman Nahles supports Spahn's plans. "I think it's right to introduce vaccination coverage for very contagious diseases such as measles," she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. It is not just about the health of the children, but also about the protection of older people with weakened immune systems from infection.
"Global Health Threat"
"Individual freedom has its limits where it endangers the health of many others," said Nahles. "And this is clearly the case here: The World Health Organization WHO has recently declared the refusal to be vaccinated against measles to be one of the global health threats."
CSU boss Söder on the other hand advertises for voluntary vaccinations, but sees a duty of vaccination skeptical. There is currently no reason to do so, said the Bavarian Prime Minister on Sunday in Munich. The vaccination rate is still sufficient, so that such measures need not be considered.
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Measles are highly contagious and can be fatal in rare cases. In addition to the acute illness it can come as a late consequence to an inflammation of the brain. The Standing Vaccination Commission at the Robert Koch Institute recommends that children be vaccinated against measles twice within the first two years: the first time between the eleventh and the 14th, the second time between the 15th and the 23rd month.
Nevertheless, a compulsion to measles vaccine should not be easy to enforce. The scientific service of the Bundestag already pointed to constitutional problems two years ago. However, the experts did not rule out the possibility of enforcing a duty to vaccinate certain diseases.
Brandenburg push
Beyond the legal problem, the vaccination takes place in several steps and only then takes effect. It also has to be decided about the vaccine and whether there are triple or quadruple vaccinations.
Brandenburg was ahead on Thursday. The state parliament called on the red-red state government by a broad majority to create the conditions for vaccination to be a binding prerequisite for the visit of day-care centers and day-care up to a federal solution. At the same time, the state government is to introduce a Federal Council initiative. Thuringia's education minister Helmut Holter (left) argued on Sunday that his state government supports the initiative.
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A compulsory vaccination for kindergarten children would go further than what the federal government had already decided in the past legislative period on stricter rules. Since then, parents who want to send their children to day-care centers must, among other things, be able to demonstrate compulsory vaccination advice. In this case, too, the federal government set the nationwide framework for this, which the states should then implement.
After a measles outbreak in Schleswig-Holstein, the opposition Hamburg CDU called for a vaccination of all urban employees who work with children. In addition, the visit of a kindergarten for children should only be possible with "impeccably proven vaccination status," said health policy spokeswoman Birgit Stöver. According to the Hamburg Senate, the vaccination rate is 93.5 percent. This is "not enough today to completely prevent infection, let alone completely eradicate the measles," said Stöver.
Hesse health minister Kai Klose (Greens) wants to provide better education for higher vaccination quotas. "In our view, vaccination is currently not proportionate and not necessary," he said.