Unvaccinated children could face school ban
Health Secretary considers options to improve uptake of MMR jab after parents buy into social media ‘lies’
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said he could not “rule out” the possibility that children who have not been given the MMR vaccine could be excluded from school to prevent the spread of disease. Only 88 per cent of five-year-olds in the UK have had the required two doses of the vaccine, well below the 95 per cent take-up needed to eliminate measles, mumps and rubella. However, teaching unions described the idea as a “non-starter”, saying it would be “unworkable”.
CHILDREN who have not been given the MMR vaccine could be excluded from school to prevent the spread of disease, the Government has warned.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said he could not “rule out” the possibility that unvaccinated children would be sent home if immunisation rates failed to improve. Teaching unions described the idea as a “non- starter”, saying it would be “unworkable” and wrong to punish children for their parents’ decision not to have them immunised.
Mr Hancock’s comments also prompted a row with Damian Hinds, the Education Secretary, whose department issued a statement saying children should never be excluded on the grounds of immunisation.
Only 88 per cent of five-year-olds in the UK have had the required two doses of the MMR vaccine, well below the 95 per cent take-up needed to eliminate measles, mumps and rubella.
Last year there were 966 cases of measles – almost a fourfold increase on the figures for 2017. In a Unicef survey of 10 high-income countries Britain had the third-highest number of unvaccinated children, at 527,000. The US topped the list, followed by France.
Appearing on Talk Radio, Mr Hancock was asked whether he would consider following the example of France, Italy and some US states in banning children from school if they had not been inoculated.
He replied: “I wouldn’t rule out anything but I don’t think we’re there yet.
“In America they tried to do this and then the courts stopped them so it can be complicated, but really it’s people’s responsibility as a parent to do the right thing, it’s the right thing for their own children as well as of course the right thing for the community that everybody lives in.”
Mr Hancock said he was meeting executives with the social media giants next week to insist that they do more to stop the spread of “lies” about the side effects of vaccinations.
A DFE spokesman said: “We ask schools to check what immunisations a child has had when they join a school but our guidance clearly states that schools cannot refuse admission or exclude a pupil because they have not been immunised.”
Geoff Barton, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Banning children from school at a time when people are worried about attendance rates is contradictory. The idea of sending home six-year-olds is a nonstarter.” The National Association of Head Teachers said banning children would cause “huge friction” between parents and teachers.
In March, Italy introduced a ban on unvaccinated pupils after making MMR jabs compulsory for children aged under six. France has also made jabs compulsory. Earlier this month New York state officials tried to ban unvaccinated children from public spaces in Rockland County after an outbreak of measles – a virus which can cause brain damage, hearing loss and even death.
The order was put on hold after parents challenged the decision.
Last week, however, a judge in Brooklyn upheld an emergency order which said people living in certain parts of Williamsburg must get vaccinated amid another measles outbreak.
Concerns about the MMR jab were driven by Dr Andrew Wakefield, who was struck off for making false claims that it was linked to autism in 1998.