[History of compulsory immunization]

Mandatory vaccination was introduced for the first time in the nineteenth century in some European countries following the then sweeping smallpox epidemics. Compulsory vaccination for some diseases is still extant in some countries like Italy, France, Greece, Portugal and Belgium; in other countries, like the United Kingdom and Finland, vaccinations are voluntary but the state pursues a policy of active promotion. In 2007, the Veneto Region of Italy government approved a law allowing the experimentation of the abolition of mandatory vaccination. This experimentation caused an important debate among healthcare workers and scientific society of public health.