In the German state of Saxony, authorities have issued hundreds of fines in recent years to parents because their children were not vaccinated against measles.
Districts report different figures: while Central Saxony reported 185 convictions in the last two school years, the district of Goerlitz reported 314 convictions in 2023 alone. In Leipzig, 184 misdemeanor proceedings were initiated in the same period.
Since March 2020, measles vaccination has been legally mandatory for children attending public institutions such as kindergartens or schools. Recently, there was an outbreak of the disease in Vogtland in twelve children aged from a few months to 13 years. According to the Ministry of Health, these children were inadequately vaccinated.
If this obligation is not met, the measures are different: kindergartens may be banned from admitting unvaccinated children, while schools must admit unvaccinated children due to compulsory attendance. However, schools report unvaccinated children to the health authorities, who then have the option of imposing fines of up to 2500 euros.
However, the fines are generally lower. The Bautzen district office cited amounts between 50 and 200 euros for more than 300 fines last year, while the Pirna district office reported 250 euros for each of the 79 fines in 2023. “Compulsory education violates mandatory vaccination,” the Ministry of Culture explains, emphasizing that unvaccinated children must still be admitted to schools.
The number of bans on kindergartens highlights the stricter treatment: in the district of Bautzen, for example, there are 13 bans and in Dresden a total of 39 from the implementation of the Smallpox Protection Act, of which 26 have already been lifted.
Often the problem is not the lack of vaccination per se, but that parents have not provided the necessary proof of it. "The ban on kindergarten attendance currently exists for 13 children," the city administration says.
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STICO) recommends double vaccination against measles combined with mumps and rubella for all children.
Therefore, infants and young children should receive the first dose of vaccination between eleven and fourteen months of age and the second dose between fifteen and twenty-three months of age.
If the vaccination status of adults born after 1970 or those who received no or only one vaccination in childhood is unclear, a single vaccination is also recommended.
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