100 nursery schools ban all unvaccinated kids in massive crackdown on anti-vaxx movement in the Netherlands
An unvaccinated child died of measles in the Netherlands during a 2013 measles epidemic
OVER 100 nursery schools in the Netherlands say their policy is to refuse children who haven't been vaccinated in a crackdown on the anti-vaxx movement.
A quarter of the daycare centres claim to have actually banned pupils who have not had their jabs.
While it is illegal to ban children who have not been vaccinated due to anti-discrimination laws, schools can refuse to admit children is there is a serious health issue, like a measles outbreak, Broadcaster NOS reports.
One Creche owner in Amsterdam said: "As an owner, I do not want to be held responsible by parents if I expose their young babies to infectious diseases."
This comes after four children all under the age of four contracted measles at a nursery in The Hague, none of whom were vaccinated against the disease.
These children brought the total number of measles cases in the country to 13 so far this year.
This compares to an average annual infection rate of 10 to 20 per year.
A committee has now been set up by junior social affairs minister Tamara van Ark to look into the legal implications of banning anti-vaxx kids from daycare.
The issue has been described as "complex".
MEASLES EPIDEMIC
Currently 90.2 per cent of Dutch children are vaccinated against potentially serious illnesses such as measles, polio and whooping cough.
The World Health Organisation deems 95 per cent to be a safe level.
In 2013 a measles epidemic hit the Netherlands' Dutch Bible belt.
A total of 2.600 people were diagnosed with the disease, the outbreaks concentrated in families with young children who had not been vaccinated for religious reasons.
One unvaccinated girl died.
The NOS contacted 3,600 daycare centres and out of the 500 that responded, 105 said they banned non-vaccinated children.
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On Monday it was reported a secondary school teacher in Zoetermeer had been diagnosed with a possible case of measles.
Oranje Nassau College told the Telegraaf most of its pupils have been vaccinated and activities are continuing as normal.
The health board GGD Haaglanden later said the teacher may not have measles, but further tests were being done to rule it out.
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