Africa Map

African Press Agency

African Press Agency Logo
   

 Home
 Country Profile
 Useful Links
 Contact us

Home

Italy/VaccinationBack
[Published: Tuesday March 12 2019]

 Italy bans unvaccinated children from school

 
ROME 12 Mar (ANA) - Italian children have been told not to turn up to school unless they can prove they have been properly vaccinated.
 
The deadline follows months of national debate over compulsory vaccination.
 
Parents risk being fined up to € 500 (£ 425; $ 560) if they send their unvaccinated children to school. Children under six can be turned away.
 
The new law came amid a surge in measles cases - but Italian officials say vaccination rates have improved since it was introduced.
 
school. They include vaccinations for chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella.
 
Children up to the age of six years will be excluded from nursery and kindergarten without proof of vaccination under the new rules.
 
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.
 
She had reportedly resisted political pressure from deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini to extend the deadline even further.
 
Ms Grillo said the rules were now simple: "No vaccine, no school".
 
Italian media report that regional authorities are handling the situation in a number of different ways.
 
In Bologna, the local authority has set letters of suspension to the parents of some 300 children, and a total of 5,000 children do not have their vaccine documentation up to date.
 
In other areas there have been no reported cases, while still others have been given a grace period of a few days beyond the deadline.(ANA)
FA/ANA/12 March 2019--------
 

North South News website

Advertise banner

News icon EU/Kenya/Pesticides
News icon UN/Israel/Gza
News icon US/Israel/Gaza
News icon Pakistan/ISI Interference
News icon EU/North Africa
News icon Senegal/Elections
News icon Israel/Gaza Massacre
News icon Russia/NATO
News icon Gaza/Victims Number
News icon Kenya/Uganda

AFRICAN PRESS AGENCY Copyright © 2005 - 2007