As schools reopened across Italy this month, the row sparked by the government’s watering-down of a 2017 law on mandatory vaccinations for children has laid bare the passions aroused by this issue.  It also highlights how the rise to power of Italy’s coalition populist government has been a shot in the arm for the nation’s vociferous anti-vaccine movement.  Leading figures in the new government had already expressed scepticism about the benefits of certain vaccines before coming to power this May and had promised to repeal the 2017 Lorenzin law that made vaccines for 10 illnesses compulsory for children enrolling for the first time at nurseries or primary schools. 

 In two parliamentary votes, the government has pushed through an amendment suspending the implementation of the Lorenzin law that had been due to take effect at the start of this school year.  The main upshot of this move is that parents enrolling their children in school now no longer have to provide a doctor’s certificate proving that their children have been vaccinated but instead can submit their own signed confirmation or ‘self certification.’  

 It was against the backdrop of this row over mandatory vaccinations that I spoke to a group of mothers picking up their children at a school in the Rome area to find out at first hand their views on this contentious issue.  Nobody was lacking an opinion on the subject and I found a wide variety of views that were sometimes more nuanced than the simple pro or anti-vax label.

“It’s like a fad”

 Elisabetta, the mother of a daughter, supports mandatory vaccinations and expressed concern about the resurgence of certain illnesses as a result of the increase in non-vaccinated kids.  She told me that in her view the anti-vax movement was more like “a fad or a fashion” than a strong conviction, like being a vegan or only eating organic food. “It goes against all logic not to vaccinate one’s children,” she said. 

Side effects and autoimmune complications 

 Mother of two children, Monica described how she came to fear vaccines after her son had an epileptic episode at the age of 3 months shortly after being given his 1st dose of the obligatory vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and polio. She said the doctors didn’t confirm there was a link and so she continued with the vaccination cycle and the same thing happened again to her son after he received his 3rd dose at the age of 3 years.  “I’m now absolutely convinced this was due to the vaccine, she said.  When her daughter was born, Monica told me how more than one doctor informally advised her not to vaccinate her baby girl given what had happened to her son and she followed that advice.  She said her daughter developed an autoimmune disorder at an early age and now cannot undergo any vaccination.  

“Vaccines are safe and effective”

 Kristiana lives in Italy but is originally from Germany and has 2 children.  A supporter of mandatory vaccinations, she echoed Elisabetta’s concern about the resurgence of certain childhood illnesses that were almost eradicated.  She described vaccines as safe and effective and said she’s convinced “they are a good thing.” 

“A huge strain on the body”

 Another mother, Kitty spoke of her opposition to vaccinations but said her two children did eventually have all the obligatory ones.  Asked about her objections, she told me she didn’t like the idea of life-threatening diseases being injected into a child’s bloodstream, describing vaccines as a “huge strain on the body.” In addition to the actual disease itself, Kitty expressed concern about the presence of “heavy metals and formaldehyde” in the vaccine.  At the same time, Kitty admitted that at times her anti-vax views have wavered and she did worry about her kids catching Rubella or Mumps in adulthood. 

“A crazy woman”

 The mother of two children, Alessia told me that her local doctor had scolded her, calling her “a crazy woman” for not wanting to have her kids vaccinated.  In the end, her son and daughter were forced to undergo the mandatory vaccinations to get into school in Italy but she still feels that so many vaccines given all at once to tiny babies “are too much.”  Among the reasons for her opposition, she cited “the commercial interests of the large pharmaceutical companies” who produce these vaccines.  Like the other mothers, Alessia said there was a worrying lack of clarity over the practical implications of the government’s amendment on vaccinations.

 What is clear is the government’s actions have ensured the issue of mandatory vaccinations for school children is no longer a debate largely taking places on the fringes of Italian society but is at the forefront of political and social debate at the national level.  This year saw cases of measles in Europe soar to a record high, with over 41,000 cases compared to 23,927 cases the previous year and 5,273 in 2016.  The Italian government’s weakening of its mandatory vaccination law seems certain to fuel that dramatic surge in infections.

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