Judgment School ban without measles vaccination is legal

Verdict: Students without measles vaccination may not go to school

03/14/2015

Berlin is currently experiencing a severe measles wave. An unvaccinated toddler died. Now, judges have ruled that health authorities in the capital city may temporarily ban school attendance for students who are not vaccinated against measles.

Unvaccinated students may be excluded from class
Berlin is currently hit by a severe measles wave. Although health experts repeatedly point out that they can be vaccinated against the infectious disease, but in the capital there are many vaccine opponents who point out, among other things on possible side effects of immunization such as redness, swelling, fever or itchy skin rash. Due to the many cases of measles, there is also a growing debate about compulsory vaccination. According to surveys, a large proportion of Germans would be in favor, but among other things, the left has advocated advice instead of vaccination. The measles wave has now also led to an important court ruling. As the news agency dpa reports, the Berlin Administrative Court has decided that the health authorities in the capital may exclude students without measles vaccination temporarily from teaching.

Abseiling of the measles wave is not in sight
As has been communicated, the ban on entering a school is considered a protective measure. According to them, authorities are likely to take them to prevent communicable diseases such as measles. The largest measles wave since 2001 has been rolling in the capital since October last year. The state office for health and social affairs registered a total of 797 cases on Friday. Alone since Monday were the 75 new messages and thus is a fading of the wave is not in sight. The measles outbreak started in a refugee home and spread to the capital because of a lack of vaccine protection in the Berlin population. Although mostly adolescents and adults are affected, even "over 100 infants are ill". In February, a child without vaccine protection died of measles.

Possible danger to other people
The verdict was due after a high school student complained shortly before graduation and the parents of a student before the middle school graduation at the court on the temporary prohibition of school because of measles. Although there were measles cases at her school, the two teenagers were not vaccinated against the highly contagious disease. Court spokesman Stephan Groscurth explained the two urgent decisions: „The adolescents could carry the virus and spread it.“ They are thus a possible danger to other people. „In each case, the measure is proportionate because it significantly reduces the risk of measles spread and that it was the applicants' free choice to refrain from vaccination against measles“, it says in a press release. "At the moment, six schools of measles are affected in Berlin's Tempelhof-Schöneberg district alone". Because of the risk of infection, "two schools in the capital were temporarily closed for some time". Afterwards, the students had to submit vaccination records and those who could not present a clear vaccination record for measles, had to go home. (Ad)