Already 170 measles cases registered with the Robert Koch Institute this year. In order to prevent a measles wave and eradicate the disease in the long term, the professional Association of child and youth doctors for years, a legal vaccination.
A publicly-funded kindergarten should be able to visit children if they are vaccinated, the professional Association of child and youth doctors. Only in this way children are protected against measles and other infectious diseases. Spokesman Hermann-Josef Kahl commented for FOCUS Online, the major theses of the advocates of such a vaccination.
- FOCUS Online also spoke with an opponent of compulsory vaccination. Here you can read their arguments.
Thesis 1: measles eradicated – the only way is with a vaccination.
A mandatory vaccination has already contributed once to an infectious disease to eradicate. Until the 70s there was in Germany, a compulsory vaccination for smallpox. Now eradicated worldwide. Children’s doctor, Hermann-Josef Kahl writes of vaccination a major role to: "In countries that have a mandatory vaccination or a national Impfregister lead, showing great success in the fight against infectious diseases."
Even measles could be completely eradicated when the largest part of the society is vaccinated. There are still too few people are adequately protected, looks Bald a mandatory vaccination as a last resort, the choice: "I am, in principle, legislation against paternalism, and such a law, but at the moment, it is now important to protect our children with a vaccination."
Hypothesis 2: parents often forget doctor’s appointments – a vaccination would change that.
Currently, 97 percent of all small children already have a first vaccination. The important second vaccination to get, however, are significantly less. This speaks for a General willingness to allow children to vaccinate.
Kahl knows that from his practice: "The biggest Problem is not the opponents, but parents, who for some reason forgot the appointment, or move, for example because the child is just sick, and then not catching up." He is convinced that parents keep only a legal obligation on such dates and in a timely manner perceive.
Thesis 3: the risks of vaccinations are exaggerated.
A vaccination can weaken the immune system and ensure that the disease to the Vaccinated is actually protected should be, breaks out in his body. This happens in the case of a measles vaccination, however, only in two percent of cases and often in an attenuated Form of the disease, so that only a fever or a slight rash persists.
Serious side effects of vaccinations, such as diseases of the nervous system are much more rare. Nevertheless, opponents can win by bad reporting on the various sites the false impression that vaccinations are more dangerous than the diseases against which they protect.
While statistics show an inverted picture: The danger of infectious diseases is much higher than the health risk of a vaccination. Measles can lead to meningitis, which can be fatal.
Thesis 4: If children could self-determine, would you get vaccinated.
A common Argument against General vaccination: the self-determination over their own bodies. However, most of the opponents are not making decisions about her own body, but about your child. Doctors recommend the measles vaccine in the first twelve months of life. Not this time, the child can not yet determine for itself whether it would like to be vaccinated against measles or not.
Pediatrician Kahl reported: "I experience that children will want to go at the age of 15 years in my practice and have been vaccinated, because the USA is about to travel. Then vaccinations are caught up, suddenly frantic." Young people who want to spend a year abroad in the USA, need to have certain vaccinations to be able to go to school.
Not only, therefore, the question of whether parents actually act in the interests of your child, if you refuse vaccinations categorically. Because of the extremely low risk of side effects due to vaccinations, the high health risk, which brings measles disease. The virus infection can have serious consequences, which did not occur until years after the disorder, such as inflammation of the brain.
Thesis 5: vaccination of children who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons protects.
Children with an immune deficiency, such as a leukemia disease, can not be vaccinated. The more important of the herd protection that would ensure a General compulsory vaccination is for you: Is vaccinated, the majority of the population, are also the ones protected, which for certain reasons were not Vaccinated.