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The childcare organization Berend Botje will refuse children who have not been vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella. The Noord-Holland organization, which looks after more than 3,000 children, will also send unvaccinated children already in care. According to the organization of the child care sector, more than a hundred daycares already refuse unvaccinated children, but Berend Botje is the first to return existing clients, reports the NOS.
Berend Botje has a few hundred childminders who take care of children of different ages, spread over 50 sites. For the moment, the new policy applies only to 12 day-care centers where babies are also cared for, as they are too young to be vaccinated and are therefore at risk. "About 10" parents were informed Tuesday that their child would no longer be welcome to Berend Botje after July 1, though he was not vaccinated.
"Some of them have looked into the issue and promised to vaccinate their children," said Gaby Alberts, educational director of Berend Botje. "A number of people have reacted very angry and do not want to vaccinate, but we just do not want to put young children at risk."
The childcare organization does not fear that legal measures will be taken against it. "Our lawyer thinks we can do it," Alberts told NOS. "You can not make any unnecessary distinction, we refuse for good reason, it is not discrimination, it is creating a safe situation."
In the Netherlands, the vaccination rate is decreasing, which increases the risk of infection with deadly diseases. Earlier this year, a measles outbreak was declared in a daycare center in The Hague. None of the sick children were vaccinated, some of them because they were still under the age of 14 months, the age at which Dutch children are vaccinated against mumps, measles and rubella.
The refusal of unvaccinated children is currently prohibited in the Netherlands, as child protection agencies are not allowed to discriminate in their acceptance policies. However, the D66 is currently working on a bill that will allow child care institutions to refuse unvaccinated children. The Dutch government is also studying the desirability of making vaccinations mandatory.
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