2024-03-21 17:51:19
What should childcare do with unvaccinated children if infectious diseases break out? This question has been discussed in politics in The Hague for a long time. On Tuesday, VVD MP Sophie Hermans proposed that unvaccinated children can no longer go to childcare in certain circumstances. The reason is the declining vaccination rate, a measles outbreak in Eindhoven and the death of four children from whooping cough.
On Tuesday, State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Public Health, Christian Union) had to defend himself during question time against the accusation that the government is doing too little to combat the declining vaccination rate. “We have fallen through the lower limit, children are dying,” said MP Wieke Paulusma (D66).
Van Ooijen reiterated that he wants to focus on “fighting misinformation about vaccines on social media.” He also wants to create more injection locations and simplify the process of making an appointment.
In 2018, D66 proposed giving shelters the right to refuse unvaccinated children. That proposal was adopted by the House of Representatives with a large majority in February 2020. Two years later, when the Senate voted on it, only D66 voted in favor of its own proposal.
This change was partly because corona vaccinations also fell under the national vaccination program and the exclusion of children without a corona vaccine was very sensitive.
Vaccination policy
“D66’s proposal was simply not strong,” says legal philosopher Roland Pierik (Maastricht University), who researches vaccination policy. “That only gave the freedom to choose a place where unvaccinated children are welcome or not.” Pediatricians feared that hotspots could arise in shelters without vaccination requirements.
The VVD’s plan should solve that problem. The proposal is that unvaccinated children will no longer be cared for if the vaccination rate falls below a certain level. The VVD already prepared the proposal in 2020, together with the SP. “We did not submit that at the time, because we were afraid that it would get mixed up with discussions about corona,” says Hermans. “We don’t want to force anyone to take a shot, but we do set a limit. If you choose not to vaccinate your child and the vaccination rate drops too far, the consequence is that the child cannot go to daycare. Otherwise, vulnerable young children and children who cannot receive a shot for medical reasons are particularly at risk.”
In 2019, a committee recommended making vaccinations mandatory as soon as the vaccination rate has fallen “to or below a critical lower limit set by the government.” Determining that limit is where the problem arises, according to Van Ooijen. “The RIVM cannot scientifically indicate that lower limit. A higher vaccination rate is always good, but a lower limit of 90 or 95 percent is difficult to justify.”
Legal philosopher Pierik does not think it is a strong argument. “It is true that the RIVM cannot determine a perfect limit, but politicians can make an informed choice. Either 90 or 85 percent, but make your choice.”
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