Mandatory MMR jabs resisted by children's professionals

09 June 2009

Children's professionals and trade unions have rejected calls for the MMR jab to be made compulsory for all children under five.

Welsh health minister Edwina Hart spoke out after the number of confirmed measles cases in Wales increased to 253, with 32 people being hospitalised, following an outbreak that began in April (News, 27 May).

Ms Hart cited other countries such as the United States, Spain and Greece where vaccinations are linked to school admissions and added, 'I think we should explore further the options for making completed vaccinations or checking and recording vaccination status an entry requirement for nurseries and schools.

'I would need to be assured, however, that such a policy would not risk undermining the existing high levels of public trust in immunisation, with the outcome that current coverage levels could actually decline.'

Ms Hart's remarks were echoed by public health expert Sir Sandy Macara, former chairman of the British Medical Association, who told the BBC last Tuesday (2 June) that children should not be able to go to school unless they have been given the MMR jab.

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