Earlier this year the federal cabinet passed legislation for a mandatory measles vaccination which could see parents fined if they violate it. On Thursday, as the proposed law was set to pass through the Bundestag, Health Minister Spahn backed the legislation saying: "This is a child protection law in the truest sense of the word." READ ALSO: Germany makes measles vaccination compulsory for children'Measles is not a childhood disease'Spahn argued that children could not decide to be vaccinated themselves, and that makes it necessary to make it compulsory. According to the Robert Koch Institute, about 500 cases of measles have been reported in Germany this year. In response, the German government drafted the law making measles vaccination compulsory for all children.

Source: The Local November 14, 2019 10:48 UTC