Germany is currently confronting its worst measles outbreak in a decade with 574 cases reported since October. Now that an 18-month-old boy has died, a senior German health official is pushing for mandatory vaccinations.
Mario Czaja, the Berlin health minister, confirmed on Monday that the child – who had not been immunized against measles – died in hospital on Wednesday, according to The Guardian.
Much like in the U.S., the debate about requiring vaccinations or the limits of exemptions has been intensified in Germany, especially following the young boy’s death. Czaja said: “This case shows that measles is a very serious disease. I am in favor of mandatory vaccination.”
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Hermann Gröhe, the German health minister, is also critical of anti-vaxxers. “The irrational fear-mongering of some vaccination opponents is irresponsible,” he said. “Anyone who refuses their child protection endangers not only their own child but others as well.”
Many of those who oppose vaccinations in Germany are under the same false impression as some Americans in thinking that there is a correlation between vaccines and autism – which has absolutely no basis in terms of data and scientific evidence. .
