Germany May Follow NYC’s Anti-Vaxx Financial Penalties

Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn appears to be following New York City’s (NYC) efforts to stop an ongoing measles outbreak. 

Minister Spahn is proposing financial penalties for parents of school-age children who haven’t been vaccinated for measles, according to reporting by Bild am Sonntag. 

This proposal says ‘parents who can’t prove their children have been vaccinated for measles should have to pay up to US $2,790.’

Additionally, this proposal says that ‘children without measles vaccinations be banned from going to daycare facilities.’ 

Germany, which has a population of over 82 million residents, is considering this legal action in reaction to 203 reported cases of measles in the first 10 weeks of 2019. Which is more than twice as many measles cases as in the same period during 2018. 

In contrast, NYC has a population of 8.6 million residents and reported 423 measles cases during 2019. 

To confront the expanding measles outbreak in NYC, the Health Department issued ‘Commissioner’s Orders’ on April 9th, which enabled the assessment of penalties up to $1,000 for violations or failures to comply with health notices. 

As of May 3, 2019, NYC had issued fines to 3 individuals and a network of schools, which now owes more than $2,400 in fines for non-compliance, confirmed to NY Daily News.

There is some good news in NYC. 

By May 3rd, all of the non-compliant schools in NYC had complied with the mandates and reopened, Health Department Spokesman Michael Lanza said. 

Additionally, NYC Health Commissioner said in a web statement, ‘a child should get a measles vaccine on or after their 1st birthday. The 2nd measles vaccine dose is recommended before children enter school at 4 to 6 years of age. And, infants ages 6 to 11 months should also receive a dose of a measles vaccine before traveling internationally, since various countries are reporting extensive measles outbreaks.’

Measles is highly contagious and spreads through coughing and sneezing. Make sure you and your child are protected with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. 

In the USA, there are 2 approved measles vaccines, MMR-II and ProQuad, which are available from most pharmacies.

Relevant Links:  CDC vaccination schedules, CDC price list, how to report vaccine side effects, and international travel alerts.