Health Secretary Matt Hancock and stock image of child getting vaccinated
Matt Hancock says parents must ‘take responsibility’ over vaccinations (Picture: Getty/EPA)

The Government is ‘looking very seriously’ at making vaccinations compulsory at schools.

It comes as fewer parents are getting their children immunised against diseases, aiding an outbreak of measles across the UK and Europe.

The proposed plans could see children banned from the classroom if they are not taken for vaccinations by their parents.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said social media companies had ‘a lot to answer for’ by allowing anti-vaccine views to be spread on their platforms.

Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, he said parents must ‘take responsibility’ over the issue.

epa07879342 Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock (C) attends the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Britain, 29 September 2019. The Conservative Party Conference runs from 29 September to 2 October 2019. EPA/NEIL HALL
He said social media companies have ‘a lot to answer for’ by allowing anti-vaccination views to be shared (Picture: EPA)

He said: ‘We need a massive drive to get these vaccination rates back up.

‘I said before that we should be open minded and frank, what I’d say is that when we – the state – provide services to people, then it’s a two-way street, you have got to take your responsibilities too.

‘So I think there is a very strong argument for having compulsory vaccinations for children when they go to school because otherwise they are putting other children at risk.’

‘Now, you have got to make sure the system would work, because some children can’t be vaccinated and some may hold very strong religious convictions that you would want to take into account.

‘But, frankly, the proportion of people in either of those two categories is tiny compared to the 7 per cent or 8 per cent now who don’t get vaccinated.’

Sick child with red rash spots from measles.
It comes amid a comeback of measles in the UK and Europe (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

He said he wanted to make the process ‘the norm’ for children arriving at school and felt confident the ‘public would back’ making it compulsory.

Hancock added: ‘I have received advice inside Government this week on how we might go about it and I’m looking very seriously at that.

‘I am very worried about falling rates of vaccinations, especially measles. For measles the falling vaccination rates are a serious problem.

‘And it’s unbelievable, I think, that Britain has lost its measles-free status, and it should be a real wake-up call.’

Hancock said the worst part of not vaccinating children is that others are put at risk – particularly those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

World immunization week and International HPV awareness day concept. Woman having vaccination for influenza or flu shot or HPV prevention with syringe by nurse or medical officer.
The proposals could see children banned from school if they do not get vaccinated (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

He added: ‘Maybe they have got cancer so their immune system is too weak, and they are losing what’s called ‘the herd immunity’ that you get from when over 95% of people are vaccinated.’

The MP for West Suffolk also used the fringe event to launch a strong defence of the sugar tax.

He said: ‘I am not proposing that we ban sugary drinks. But we have got to tax something.

‘So, taxing things that are actively bad for you and drive up my costs in the NHS – let’s tax those things instead of taxing good things like the amount of work that people do through income tax.’

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