Ljubljana - The college of epidemiologists at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has unanimously endorsed the position that they cannot support the introduction of mandatory vaccination for now, citing an absence of legal basis and questions about implementation.

In the third meeting on the issue on Wednesday, the epidemiologists said it was likely that mandatory vaccination would end up being "dead ink on paper" given the absence of an implementing plan that would set down administrative procedures, and action in the event individuals decline to be vaccinated.

This issue "goes beyond" the epidemiological profession or the health profession in general and the debate needs to involve other experts including lawyers, communications scientists and representatives of the humanities, NIJZ told the STA today.

The statement comes amidst mounting calls for mandatory vaccination voiced in recent days by the Medical Association, the council of the UKC Ljubljana hospital and, most recently, the head of the UKC Ljubljana's infectious diseases department.

The position is important since the law stipulates that the health minister adds diseases to the statutory list of mandatory vaccinations at the proposal of the NIJZ.

Health Minister Janez Poklukar said yesterday that the ministry was "waiting for a positive reply" from NIJZ. Today, the ministry said it would follow NIJZ guidelines.

The NIJZ said today it was an "independent professional institution" that takes expert decisions, not political decisions.