Minister of Justice measles vaccination could come

Minister of Justice: Measles vaccination could come

03/02/2015

The measles outbreak in Berlin is causing big waves. In view of more and more cases of illness is increasingly discussed by a statutory vaccination obligation. Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas has now pointed out in an interview that such is legally conceivable.

Vaccination is legally conceivable
Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas (SPD) considers the introduction of compulsory vaccination possible in view of the current measles wave. According to a message from the news agency dpa, the politician told the Berliner „Tagesspiegel“, that this is legally conceivable. Although vaccination was an invasion of physical integrity, coercion could be imposed when experts deemed it necessary to prevent a measles epidemic. „This will only come into question if we do not succeed in raising the vaccination rate through education“, Maas explained.

Majority of Germans are for vaccination
In the past week, surveys revealed that a large majority of Germans are in favor of measles vaccination. The dangers of a disease outweigh the potential side effects of immunization. Patients also get fever, as well as the typical red patches of skin, and sometimes have symptoms such as conjunctivitis, runny nose and cough. In addition, the weakened immune system can cause complications such as otitis media or diarrhea. And severe cases can lead to life-threatening or even fatal complications such as lung or brain inflammation.

German measles fall in Sweden
Since October last year, more than 650 people in Berlin have contracted measles, and one unvaccinated toddler died. The Professional Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) recently asked parents to "let babies at home for measles". Swedish authorities linked a measles case in their country to the outbreak in Germany over the weekend. According to the unvaccinated woman infected in Germany and will be treated in Gothenburg. „It was to be expected that we would get a case“, Epidemiologist Leif Dotevall told the newspaper „Goteborgs-Posten“. In Europe or the US uninoculated are at risk. In Sweden, on the other hand, the risk of infection is low because of the high vaccination rate.

Better health care for refugees demanded
The Federal Government's Integration Commissioner called for better health care for refugees in view of the measles wave. Aydan Özoguz said to the „world“ (Monday) that asylum-seekers and tolerated foreigners have only a limited supply in the first 15 months. The SPD politician criticized: „This limited health care can cause illnesses to go undetected and be taken away.“ From the capital was recently reported that there should be a central vaccination center at the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) until the summer to improve health protection for refugees. (Ad)