Italy will make vaccines compulsory for school starters

Italy’s health minister Beatrice Lorenzin said on Friday that the government planned to approve legislation banning non-vaccinated children from starting at state schools «by the end of next week».

She first made the announcement on Italian TV on Thursday night, when she said she had prepared a bill making vaccinations compulsory in order to attend school.

On Friday morning, Lorenzin confirmed that she had presented the white paper to the Italian cabinet, and that it would be passed by decree within seven days.

She also described the fall in vaccination cover across Italy as «an emergency generated by fake news».

The minister has previously sounded the alarm over the recent rise in infectious diseases. In March, she called to «rapidly boost» vaccination cover and last November, she welcomed the decision of an Italian region to ban non-vaccinated children from public daycare centres.

Lorenzin has also shared photos of her three-month-old twins getting their vaccines, saying: «Mums, don’t be afraid».

However, the move on Friday appeared to cause friction within the government, with Education Minister Valeria Fedeli said early on Friday that she was «astonished» by the way Lorenzin had pushed through the bill.

Recently re-elected Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi commented: «The government is giving an impression of no coordination, and everyone doing what they feel like», according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

Fedeli later said: «We will work together to create a concrete way of making vaccines obligatory without infringing upon the right to education».

Vaccination controversy in Italy

Measles cases rose more than fivefold across Italy in April, compared to the same month last year, the National Health Institute said at the start of May, with a growing anti-vaccine movement believed to have contributed to the increase.