Compulsory vaccination on the cards?
New research conducted by the Bruno Kessler Foundation and Bocconi University in Italy and published in BMC Medicine has found that compulsory measles vaccines for all children starting primary school may be required to prevent a resurgence of the disease.
The research simulated the evolution of measles immunity between 2018 and 2050 in several countries such as the UK, Ireland, Italy, the US and Australia. This enabled the researchers to evaluate the effect of possible adjustments to existing immunisation strategies and estimate the proportion of people who might remain susceptible to the disease in high-income countries over time.
The researchers concluded that current vaccination policies are not sufficient to achieve and maintain measles elimination in most countries and strategies targeting unvaccinated children before they enter primary school can significantly enhance the fulfilment of World Health Organization targets.