In a landmark ruling earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) backed a Czech Republic decision for requiring mandatory pre-school vaccinations. The case was brought up by families who were fined or whose children were not allowed to return to pre-schools because they had not been vaccinated. Although the high court did find that the policy interfered with the right to private life, the need to protect public health overcame that concern. All of the cases occurred before the pandemic, but the recent health crisis may have swayed the outcome as the issue of routine childhood vaccinations has come under increasing scrutiny.
This marks the first ruling from the European Court of Human Rights on compulsory vaccination against childhood diseases. The decision saw a 16 to 1 backing of the Czech legislation. The court stated that the objective has to be that every child is allowed fair access to pre-school resources without the threat of serious diseases, therefore requiring vaccinations protects Czech children.
