Italian politician and leading anti-vax figure is hospitalised with chickenpox

• Massimiliano Fedriga is the president of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy
• Argued against decree which made vaccination mandatory for schoolchildren
• Twitter users mocked Mr Fedriga for catching infection after vaccine comments 
• But he claimed he was not an anti-vaxxer, and had his own children vaccinated 

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A leading anti-vax figure and Italian politician was hospitalised with chickenpox earlier this week.

Massimiliano Fedriga, who is the president of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and member of the right-wing Northern League party, revealed he was ill on Twitter.

He previously argued against the Lorenzin decree, which made vaccination compulsory for children before they could attend school, back in 2017.

At the time, he said that he had his own children vaccinated but believed it should not be forced on to people, reports La Vanguardia.

He also claimed that making the 10 vaccinations, which include polio and measles, mandatory was not the best method to convince anti-vaxxers.

Massimiliano Fedriga, who is the president of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy, was hospitalised with chickenpox

Prominent microbiologist Roberto Burioni shared the news about Mr Fedriga’s chickenpox on Twitter, saying it helpfully brought up the topic of vaccinations in adults.

Many social media users then mocked Mr Fedriga for catching the highly-contagious infection, which can be deadly in adults, after arguing against vaccines.

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He hit back at the claims, saying: ‘I have always said that I am in favour of vaccines and to achieve the result is necessary to form an alliance with families, not impose [it on them]. 

‘[The critics] even said I would get chicken pox from my children, not realising that my children are vaccinated (as I have stated in many interviews).’

Back in 2017, he argued against the Lorenzin decree, which made vaccination compulsory for children before they could attend school

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