This has been in my mind for a while, so I am breaking the ice on the politics site.

I am living in Romania (Eastern European country within the European Union), so this question might be too localized, although I have heard about similar problems in other European countries as well.

Recently, we had a tremendous debate about the vaccination / immunization. This was especially relevant after some vaccine target diseases made some victims. E.g. Measles outbreak makes victims

I am wondering why it is so hard to make vaccination mandatory by law? There are so many arguments for it, that I do not see any serious debate (except for political will)

1. Clinical studies - check here for reference - have shown high safety of the vaccines

2. Herd immunity - (definition) - the most tricky effect is that immunization must high enough at the population level to be effective. By not vaccinating your kid, you are actually exposing other children (or even adults in some cases).

3. Efficacy - has been proven by many studies and be confirmed directly by either asking grandparents about how many used to die in the old days or by checking how easy is to die from various infectious diseases in countries that cannot offer vaccination for the people

4. Possible denial of education - some institutions (especially private ones) do not allow non-vaccinated kids to attend classes. This however is against the right for an education

Ex-Health Minister (a technocrat) managed to impose participation at some short course about vaccination awareness to all parents, before being legally allowed to not vaccinate their children, but he was unable to go further.

Also, another issue is that, under the protection of expression right (free speech), anyone can virtually express him/herself against vaccination without any scientific proof. However, I see this as an abuse since the European Convention on Human Rights clearly states that:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

territorial integrity or public safety

protection of health or morals

This has been in my mind for a while, so I am breaking the ice on the politics site.

I am living in Romania (Eastern European country within the European Union), so this question might be too localized, although I have heard about similar problems in other European countries as well.

Recently, we had a tremendous debate about the vaccination / immunization. This was especially relevant after some vaccine target diseases made some victims. E.g. Measles outbreak makes victims

I am wondering why it is so hard to make vaccination mandatory by law? There are so many arguments for it, that I do not see any serious debate (except for political will)

1. Clinical studies - check here for reference - have shown high safety of the vaccines

2. Herd immunity - (definition) - the most tricky effect is that immunization must high enough at the population level to be effective. By not vaccinating your kid, you are actually exposing other children (or even adults in some cases).

3. Efficacy - has been proven by many studies and be confirmed directly by either asking grandparents about how many used to die in the old days or by checking how easy is to die from various infectious diseases in countries that cannot offer vaccination for the people

4. Possible denial of education - some institutions (especially private ones) do not allow non-vaccinated kids to attend classes. This however is against the right for an education

Ex-Health Minister (a technocrat) managed to impose participation at some short course about vaccination awareness to all parents, before being legally allowed to not vaccinate their children, but he was unable to go further.

Also, another issue is that, under the protection of expression right (free speech), anyone can virtually express him/herself against vaccination without any scientific proof. However, I see this as an abuse since the European Convention on Human Rights clearly states that:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

territorial integrity or public safety

protection of health or morals

This has been in my mind for a while, so I am breaking the ice on the politics site.

I am living in Romania (Eastern European country within the European Union), so this question might be too localized, although I have heard about similar problems in other European countries as well.

Recently, we had a tremendous debate about the vaccination / immunization. This was especially relevant after some vaccine target diseases made some victims. E.g. Measles outbreak makes victims

I am wondering why it is so hard to make vaccination mandatory by law? There are so many arguments for it, that I do not see any serious debate (except for political will)

1. Clinical studies - check here for reference - have shown high safety of the vaccines

2. Herd immunity - (definition) - the most tricky effect is that immunization must high enough at the population level to be effective. By not vaccinating your kid, you are actually exposing other children (or even adults in some cases).

3. Efficacy - has been proven by many studies and be confirmed directly by either asking grandparents about how many used to die in the old days or by checking how easy is to die from various infectious diseases in countries that cannot offer vaccination for the people

4. Possible denial of education - some institutions (especially private ones) do not allow non-vaccinated kids to attend classes. This however is against the right for an education

Ex-Health Minister (a technocrat) managed to impose participation at some short course about vaccination awareness to all parents, before being legally allowed to not vaccinate their children, but he was unable to go further.

Also, another issue is that, under the protection of expression right (free speech), anyone can virtually express him/herself against vaccination without any scientific proof. However, I see this as an abuse since the European Convention on Human Rights clearly states that:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

territorial integrity or public safety

protection of health or morals

Thank you!

This has been in my mind for a while, so I am breaking the ice on the politics site.

I am living in Romania (Eastern European country within the European Union), so this question might be too localized, although I have heard about similar problems in other European countries as well.

Recently, we had a tremendous debate about the vaccination / immunization. This was especially relevant after some vaccine target diseases made some victims. E.g. Measles outbreak makes victims

I am wondering why it is so hard to make vaccination mandatory by law? There are so many arguments for it, that I do not see any serious debate (except for political will)

1. Clinical studies - check here for reference - have shown high safety of the vaccines

2. Herd immunity - (definition) - the most tricky effect is that immunization must high enough at the population level to be effective. By not vaccinating your kid, you are actually exposing other children (or even adults in some cases).

3. Efficacy - has been proven by many studies and be confirmed directly by either asking grandparents about how many used to die in the old days or by checking how easy is to die from various infectious diseases in countries that cannot offer vaccination for the people

4. Possible denial of education - some institutions (especially private ones) do not allow non-vaccinated kids to attend classes. This however is against the right for an education

Ex-Health Minister (a technocrat) managed to impose participation at some short course about vaccination awareness to all parents, before being legally allowed to not vaccinate their children, but he was unable to go further.

Also, another issue is that, under the protection of expression right (free speech), anyone can virtually express him/herself against vaccination without any scientific proof. However, I see this as an abuse since the European Convention on Human Rights clearly states that:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:

territorial integrity or public safety

protection of health or morals