Senate opposes proposal to care for unvaccinated children

The Senate opposes D66’s proposal for an initiative to give daycare centers the right to refuse children who have not been vaccinated against childhood diseases. Only D66 voted in favor of its own proposal, which was adopted by a large majority in the House of Representatives before the corona pandemic.

With the bill, D66 wanted to make daycare centers safer. The Senate is now against it because the corona coup also falls within the scope of the amendment to the law. The proposal could therefore lead to a distinction in childcare between children with and without the corona vaccine.

Initiators Paul van Meenen and Rens Raemakers wanted to fix the startup proposal with a so-called news. It is a way to improve or supplement the content of the offer. The House of Representatives must decide on this before the Senate reconsiders.

As a result, the vote in the Senate was delayed by several weeks, but D66 needed more time. It did not work. Liberals said before the vote, among other things, that the VVD was forced to vote against the proposed amendment to the law. Fraction-Nanninga was angry that it didn’t have a chance to develop the news. Senator Martin van Rooijen of 50PLUS summarized the opposition.

“The law never aims to make corona vaccines mandatory”

Van Meenen was disappointed that the offer ended up in the trash. “I indicated that I was aware of the objections and that I wanted to change the law, but I was not given that opportunity. The law was never intended to make the corona vaccine mandatory. The law should protect children and ensure the safety of parents. †

The D66 member is concerned because “outbreaks of highly contagious and dangerous diseases such as measles are still under treatment due to the drop in vaccination rates.” He is still thinking of a sequel.

Professional associations approved the bill.

The Child Welfare Industry Association (BMK) approved the purpose of the bill, because it enables parents to “choose the safest and most secure childcare center possible”.

According to the UNK, the issue of vaccination affects society as a whole. “Children play and move everywhere: not only in kindergarten, but also during swimming lessons, in the sandbox. And education professionals thrive in an environment with other people.”

For example, Gjalt Jellesma, chairman of the Association of Parents in Childcare (BOinK), is not in favor of compulsory vaccination against measles, but believes that parents have the right to know whether their child goes to childcare without vaccination. One parent’s right not to vaccinate their child does not override another parent’s right to know their child is safe, she says.

If privacy legislation stands in the way of clarification about the existence of unvaccinated children in shelters, parliament should investigate the matter.