The Conversation: Mandatory vaccination is not the solution for measles in Europe
Vageesh Jain, NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Public Health Medicine at UCL

“Global measles cases reached their highest levels since 2006 in the first six months of 2019. With countries around the world struggling to contain outbreaks, government policy on vaccination has come under fire. Germany has been the latest to succumb to the pressure. … Although measles cases are at a record high, more children in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region are being vaccinated than ever before. … So the question is: is mandatory vaccination the key to success? Nine out of 30 European countries have mandatory vaccination for measles … There is no clear difference in vaccine coverage between countries with mandatory vaccination compared with those without mandatory vaccination. … To deal with measles, E.U. policy must be consistent, fair, and effective. Well-understood and documented reasons underlying low rates of vaccination exist. It’s important that these are addressed to engage hard-to-reach groups, before leaping to radical measures with a weak evidence base, under the guise of action” (11/15).