Vaccinations are essential for the survival of humanity, but a recent spate of outbreaks in Italy has seen more and more people opting out.
Italy’s health ministry is currently working out ways to tackle the problem, and a measure is currently being considered that could mean vaccinating some children before they start school.
This would mean their parents would have to have a formal consultation with a doctor to check they are ‘in-tune’ with their child’s vaccine requirements.
Parents with strong religious beliefs would be exempt from this bill, but according to Italian officials, “we’re not talking about people being exempted from vaccination based on their religion or ideology, we’re talking about whether vaccinations are related to their beliefs.”
The Italian government recently banned doctors from refusing to administer a vaccine based on religious grounds and encouraged them to opt out of failing to do so.
These requirements are primarily concerning those who are exempt from the vaccination regulations, and are purely meant to reduce the number of people who simply opt out of vaccinations.
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Italy is currently the third-most-vaccinated country in the EU, with just 24% of children aged 6 to 23 months not having had the full series of vaccinations.
This number has dramatically risen in the last six years, with the number rising from about 9% in 2011.
Each year sees a spike in the rate of non-vaccinated children as the ‘no jab, no pay’ policy begins to catch up with low-income areas of the country.
Children are either given a flu jab and shot against whooping cough, or a fill-in vaccination to cover these areas. These expenses can total hundreds of euros, and extra doses are also required after two years.