Parents who do not get measles vaccinations for their children could be fine thousands of Euro, under new plans being created in Germany.
German health minister Jens Spahn has drawn up a draft legislation which would also see children excluded from nursery and daycare facilities if they are not vaccinated against measles.
The initiative comes amid a worldwide debate that is going on about whether the measles vaccine should be obligatory.
According to
The Independent, Spahn believes that his draft law has the full support of Germany's coalition government, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, to which he belongs, as well as the left-leaning Social Democrats.
This isn't the first time that a European country has taken a hard stance on this particular subject.
Just over a month ago,
Italian children were told not to turn up to school unless they can prove that they have been properly vaccinated.
More recently again, Ireland's health minister
Simon Harris said that he would be looking to make vaccinations mandatory for children.
"Vaccinations save lives," he recently said while highlighting a notable drop in vaccination rates across Ireland.
"We need doctors' support to call out the lies and nonsense of anti-vaccine campaigners," he added.
