September 1, 2017.
This is news that may lead to an outcry: the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, has just announced that the entry into force of the 11 compulsory vaccines for children will be effective on January 1, 2018.
Recommended vaccines become mandatory
It is decided, from the 1er January, children should be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and polio (DTP), but also against whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, the bacteria Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococcus and meningococcus C. These last eight vaccines were so far only recommended but not mandatory.
” We will obviously give the families time to get in working order because it is out of the question to urge people to vaccinate in an emergency “, Suggested the Minister of Health, at the microphone of CNews. ” The idea is that the 15% of children who endanger others and who favor the re-emergence of epidemics for which there are deaths today, get in order to protect the rest of the population. “.
A link between pediatric vaccination and autism?
Words that have aroused the anger of many associations and parents who prefer to have the freedom to choose. Some believe that there is a link between pediatric vaccination and autism, others denounce the pressure of pharmaceutical companies which will be the big winners of such a decision. Already, the Autism vaccinations association launched legal actions against 4 pharmaceutical laboratories.
But what is the concrete risk for parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated? If until now convictions have been rare, article L3116-4 of the public health code provides for a penalty of six months imprisonment and a fine of € 3,750 in the event of refusal of vaccination. As for the penal code, it estimates that the fact of evading its legal obligations in matters of health can be worth up to two years of imprisonment and 30,000 € of fine.
Marine Rondot
Read also: Vaccination: current ideas and debates
