Argentina school vaccination mandate enforcement

The Argentine Ministry of Public Health has reinforced mandatory vaccination requirements for school entry, specifically highlighting the need for children to receive boosters for Polio, Triple Viral, DPT, and Varicella at age five.

In response to these mandates, the Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) has implemented policies for students with incomplete immunization records. Following a dispute involving a 14-year-old student whose family holds anti-vaccination views, the university transitioned the student to remote learning. The university’s Dean of the Department of Health Sciences, Pablo Badr, stated that while students with incomplete records cannot attend classes in person, they are not expelled and may continue via virtual modalities to ensure the right to education is maintained.

The student’s mother has denounced the measure, claiming it violates the minor’s right to education and expressing intentions to pursue legal action. The university maintains that its policy follows Argentine law, which views vaccination as both an individual and collective right, and provides a window for families to regularize health status through the health system.