BERLIN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- All children in Germany from the age of one will be required to vaccinate against measles before entering school or kindergarten, according to the new measles protection law passed by the German lower parliament Bundestag on Thursday.
Parents who do not vaccinate their children will commit an administrative offense in the future and have to expect a fine of up to 2,500 euros (2,780 U.S. dollars), the country's Ministry of Health announced.
The vaccination obligation will also applies to childminders and staff in daycare centers, schools, medical facilities, and communal facilities.
Asylum seekers and refugees in Germany must also be vaccinated four weeks after being admitted to shared accommodation, said the ministry.
"Measles are far too often underestimated. This infectious disease is particularly dangerous for those who cannot protect themselves: our children," stressed Jens Spahn, the federal minister of health.
In 2018, the number of measles cases had doubled worldwide. The law stressed that not only children but also adolescents and adults in Germany had been affected by measles in the past years.
During the debate in the Bundestag, Gesine Loetzsch, a member of the Left Party, said the German Centre for Health Education (BZgA) still had to do "much more to inform about vaccination."
The law is scheduled to come into effect in March 2020. "And we make it possible for the public health service to offer more serial vaccinations in schools again. This helps us to fight other infectious diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough," said the minister.
