11 vaccines to become mandatory from January 1

The number of mandatory vaccines against childhood illnesses with increase from three to 11 from January 1, 2018, Health Minister Agnès Buzyn has revealed.

Dr Buzyn told C News on Thursday morning that the eight currently recommended vaccines - for polio, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae bacteria, pneumococcus and meningococcus C - would join those for diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis on the mandatory list.

But there is no need to rush to the doctor, as there will be a period of grace for children to be vaccinated safely.

Dr Buzyn said: "We will obviously leave the time for families ... because it is out of the question to push people to vaccinate in an emergency.

"But the idea is that the 15% of [unvaccinated] children who endanger others and promote the re-emergence of deadly epidemics today will get vaccinated in order to protect the rest of the population."

The announcement on mandatory vaccines was made by Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe in July, sparking controversy among anti-vaccine activists. Parents who fail to get their children inoculated could face up to six months in prison and a fine of €3,750.

Between 2008 and the end of 2016, more than 24,000 cases of measles were declared in France, official figures show. Of these, around 1,500 resulted in serious complications and 10 deaths. Fifty cases were reported in an outbreak in Lorraine in early 2017.