The judges in Karlsruhe announced yesterday that the Federal Constitutional Court had rejected complaints from affected families. The encroachments on fundamental rights are not insignificant, but reasonable.
“Without violating constitutional law, the legislature has given the protection of people at risk of measles infection priority over the interests of the complaining children and parents,” the judges ruled. Compulsory vaccination should one day help to eradicate measles altogether. Experts assume that the highly contagious virus only has no chance if at least 95 percent of the population has been vaccinated across the board. That has not yet been achieved in Germany.
The focus is primarily on community facilities such as kindergartens and schools. Since March 1, 2020, kindergartens in Germany have only been allowed to accept children from the age of one if they have been vaccinated or have already had the measles. The same rules apply to childminders. Parents of children who have already been cared for had until July 31 to submit proof. No child is excluded from school because of compulsory education. However, parents face fines of up to 2500 euros.
The four pairs of parents with unvaccinated small children had sued because they saw this as a disproportionate encroachment on the fundamental right to physical integrity and their right to bring up children. Experts warn against the fallacy that measles is just a harmless childhood disease. Complications can occur and the immune system remains weak for a long time. A rare late consequence is encephalitis, which almost always ends fatally. The highest possible vaccination rate also protects people who cannot be vaccinated.
Source: Nachrichten
