Compulsory jabs mooted
Updated on 11 May 2008
Labour's insisting it has no plans for compulsory vaccinations after an MP proposed stopping children from starting school unless they had received their jabs.
The plan is reportedly being considered by Mary Creagh, who is in charge of drawing up the public health section of the party's general election manifesto.
Under the proposals, primary schools would be compelled to demand proof that children had been given the full range of inoculations - including measles, mumps and rubella - before they could register.
Ms Creagh, MP for Wakefield, told the Sunday Express the scheme was based on the system used in parts of the United States where school authorities are responsible for vaccinations.
"We have vaccination rates as low as 11 per cent in parts of London," she said.
"We need to get our rates up to 95 per cent, as recommended by the World Health Organisation. This is about health inequalities and poor areas where children are getting missed out. It would be up to local authorities to deal with individuals who refuse to vaccinate."
She added: "There would have to be exceptions, children who would be at risk from vaccines, like those with cancer or those who are HIV-positive and those with parents with strong religious beliefs."
In a brief statement, a party spokesman said: "Labour has no plans to introduce compulsory vaccination for children."
The proposal was strongly condemned by the chairman of the British Medical Association, Dr Hamish Meldrum, who said forcing parents to have their children inoculated was "morally and ethically dubious".
He added: "A Stalinist approach like this would be likely to backfire on an unprecedented scale and increase opposition to vaccinations."
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