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Measles vaccination comes into force - which is now changing

2020-03-01T03:48:26.459Z


With the upcoming vaccination against measles, new rules apply to children and adults. Which are they?


With the upcoming vaccination against measles, new rules apply to children and adults. Which are they?

Berlin (dpa) - From March 1, vaccination against measles applies in Germany. Not only children, but also some adult groups have to prove that they are immune to the disease. The regulations in detail:

What applies to children?

The obligation to vaccinate applies to almost everyone - except for children under the age of one. When entering the day care center or school, parents have to show from March 1st that the offspring has been vaccinated. As a rule, presentation of the vaccination card is sufficient. The school or daycare management is responsible for the control.

For children who are already in a facility or at school, proof of vaccination must be submitted by July 31, 2021 at the latest. A medical certificate is also possible, which either proves that the child has had measles and is therefore immune. Or that vaccination is not advisable for health reasons.

What happens to parents who don't want their child vaccinated?

Then the offspring will not be admitted to the daycare center, otherwise the daycare management will face a fine. At school it looks different: Since compulsory schooling applies in Germany, unvaccinated children cannot be excluded. However, large fines of up to 2500 euros can be imposed on the parents if they do not meet the children's vaccination obligation. Schools must report such cases to the local health department, which decides how to proceed.

For which adults does the compulsory vaccination apply?

For kindergarten teachers, for teachers, childminders and for employees in medical and other "community facilities". These include holiday camps or asylum and refugee accommodation. The residents of such facilities must also be vaccinated or proven that they are immune. The transition period until July 2021 also applies here.

Children born before 1970 are exempt from compulsory vaccination because, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), they are considered largely immune because they have most likely gone through measles. Vaccination was only introduced on a voluntary basis in the Federal Republic in the 1970s, and measles had been compulsory in the GDR since 1970.

How can you prove that you have had measles? And what if the vaccination card is gone?

A medical certificate helps in both cases: The doctor either noted in the patient file that a patient had measles before and can attest to this. Immunity can also be demonstrated by a blood test and then certified. If antibodies are present, one has either had measles or has already been vaccinated.

What if those affected repeatedly fail to comply with the vaccination request and fines have no effect? Is vaccination then mandatory?

No. "Compulsory vaccination is never an option," says the Federal Ministry of Health.

Some are afraid of getting sick from vaccination. What's up there

A measles vaccine contains a live vaccine that contains a weakened variant of the pathogen. This can multiply to a limited extent, but can no longer trigger measles itself, says Klaus Cichutek, President of the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

When vaccinated against measles, about 5 to 15 percent of those vaccinated showed a reaction with moderate fever, volatile rash and symptoms in the area of ​​the airways, sometimes accompanied by a measles-typical rash, especially after the first measles immunization. This usually happens in the second week after vaccination. This reaction is called "vaccination measles". However, these are not contagious and only cause mild symptoms that subside by themselves.

Who is vaccinated is not only vaccinated against measles?

That's right. According to the authorities, only so-called combination vaccines are currently available for vaccination against measles in Germany. So measles vaccination is always used to vaccinate against other diseases. There is either the triple vaccination "mumps-measles-rubella" or the quadruple vaccination "mumps-measles-rubella varicella".

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this is recommended by the Standing Vaccination Commission to keep the number of injections in children low. A combination vaccine is generally considered to be no less tolerable than a single vaccine.

Why are measles classified as so dangerous at all?

The immune system in infected people is weakened, and complications such as middle ear and pneumonia can occur. Rarely, brain inflammation occurs, which can be fatal. Measles is not a harmless childhood disease, says the RKI. There is a death in 1,000 people. Sometimes the disease only leads to death after years, for example with measles-brain inflammation SSPE - those who develop measles in infancy are particularly at risk.

How many people in Germany have contracted measles this year?

The latest figures from the Robert Koch Institute are from mid-February. Accordingly, the institute counts 15 new cases for the first five weeks of the year. Most of them come from Baden-Württemberg. In the same period in 2019 there were 102 infected people.

Vaccination information

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-03-01

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