Germany's constitutional court upholds measles vaccine mandate for children

Berlin: The German constitutional court upheld the country's measles vaccine mandate for children on Thursday, ruling against a challenge brought by parents.

In its final decision on the matter, the court in Karlsruhe said that while the mandate interfered with the rights of children and their parents, this was justified due to the high infection risk with measles and potential for serious illness.

The measles vaccine mandate came into effect in March 2020 and requires all children to be vaccinated or have already recovered from a course of the disease in order to attend kindergarten or child care facilities.

Exceptions are allowed only if the child has a medical intolerance for the vaccine.