“Unfortunately, we are seeing greater vaccine mandates in some member states; for example, France and Italy increased their compulsory vaccines 2017/2018, increased fines to parents and restricted vaccine exemptions. The EFVV’s petition “ for freedom of informed vaccination consent…(link)” on Change.org doubled from 85,000 in 2017 to 170,000 in April 2018, showing the strength of feeling with many citizens. This petition has been translated into 13 different languages. Many cities staged marches and protests; Italy for example, marched in a different Italian city for every day in August. The largest number of protestors was 10,000 yet there was no press coverage.
The EFVV had previously attempted to file an official petition in late 2015 with the EU but it was declined because ‘Union action in the area of public health shall complement national policies and must respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policies and for the organization and delivery of health services.