A proposal is underway with Reykjavík City Hall to ban unvaccinated children from attending kindergartens in the capital city, reports RÚV.
The proposal, which is accessible in Icelandic on Reykjavík City’s website, is being led by the Independence Party.
Should the proposal go ahead exceptions would be made for children who for medical reasons were unable to be vaccinated, and the kindergarten’s responsible for monitoring that the children are up to date with their vaccinations.
The move to ban unvaccinated children is a reaction to news from the Directorate of Health suggesting that not enough Icelandic children are vaccinated – especially among children aged 12 months and 4 years.
Around 97% of Icelandic parents are in favour of vaccination so the drop in the vaccination rate is believed to be due to missed follow-ups and forgetfulness.
“This is a dangerous development as only a high vaccination rate can stop outbreaks of contagious childhood diseases,” reads the proposal. “The chances of negative consequences to the use of vaccines are astronomically small in comparison to the negative consequences of the diseases themselves.”
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