(ANSA) - Rome, May 12 - Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin said Friday that the cabinet should have approved legislation on making vaccinations compulsory for school admission "by the end of next week". "As announced, I presented the white paper for the decree on the obligation for vaccines in schools to the cabinet," she said after a cabinet meeting. "During the session I had confirmation from Premier (Paolo) Gentiloni about the will to start an immediate examination".

Indeed, during Friday's cabinet meeting, Gentiloni told the competent ministers to work on a white paper on the obligation for vaccines to be presented at the next cabinet meeting, sources said.

Italy has suffered an upsurge in measles cases amid vaccine skepticism, some of it allegedly fuelled by past statements by members of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which now disowns those stances.

However, there seem to have been splits over Lorenzin's proposal within the government. Education Minister Valeria Fedeli said Thursday that obligation to vaccinate schoolchildren should not harm the Constitutional right to an education.

