Italian children have to be vaccinated to be allowed to go to school
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Italian children have been told not to turn up to school unless they can prove they have been properly vaccinated.
The BBC reports that this deadline follows months of national debate over compulsory vaccination.
The new law came amid a surge in measles cases – but Italian officials say vaccination rates have improved since it was introduced. Parents risk being fined up to €500 if they send their unvaccinated children to school. Children up to the age of six years will be excluded from nursery and kindergarten without proof of vaccination under the new rules.
Under the new law, children must receive a range of mandatory immunisations before attending school which include vaccinations for chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella.
Those aged between six and 16 cannot be banned from attending school, but their parents face fines if they do not complete the mandatory course of immunisations.
The deadline for certification was due to be 10 March after a previous delay – but as it fell on a weekend, it was extended to Monday. “Now everyone has had time to catch up,” Health Minister Giulia Grillo told La Repubblica newspaper.
