Vaccines: after long discussions, the go-ahead has come from the Council of Ministers for the decree law that reintroduces the compulsory vaccinations for enrollment in school, for children who attend nurseries and preschools .
There will be twelve compulsory vaccines and, as underlined by Prime Minister Gentiloni, the lack of documentation that certifies vaccination will result in sanctions from the school authorities from ten to thirty times greater than those existing. Although it has not yet been disclosed, the content of the decree immediately enters into force, but Parliament will have to convert it into law within 60 days.
What changes for families with the new vaccine decree
As announced by the Council of Ministers, from September the 12 mandatory vaccines for access to nurseries and kindergartens will be:
- Diphtheria
- Anti-tetanus
- Antipolio
- Viral antihepatitis B
- Pertussis
- Anti Haemophilus influenza type B
It’s still:
- Anti-measles
- Antimumps
- Antirosolia
- Antimeningococcal C
- Antimeningococcal B
- Antivaricella
In particular, to be able to enroll their children in the nursery and kindergarten, it will be necessary to present the vaccination booklet and any certificates: if the child is not in order, it will not be possible to continue enrollment.
Parents must also submit the same documentation with regard to compulsory school , to prove that their child has been regularly vaccinated. Otherwise, the school will have to contact the ASL which, in turn, will contact the parents to complete the required vaccinations, within a very short timeframe.
Yes, it is true, the family will not be obliged to vaccinate the child but, on the other hand, will have to pay a penalty from “10 to 30 times higher than the current”, although the actual amount of the fine has not yet been specified.
There are already penalties for compulsory vaccinations , but they are around a few hundred euros and are rarely enforced. With the new bill, the figures will increase to several thousand euros and will certainly be applied with much more stringent controls.
In short, the measures taken by the Government are aimed at limiting the explosion of the seriousness of the situation, linked in particular to the measles epidemic in progress in our country which, since the beginning of the year, has registered record numbers, reaching almost 2,2000 cases. Just yesterday, the international authorities sent a warning to the Minister of Health Lorenzin : there are too many patients in Italy, so much so that together with Romania we are responsible for 48% of cases in Europe.
From September, with the new vaccine bill , perhaps something will change
