Rubella, mumps & Co – What vaccinations does a child need? Since there is no longer an official vaccination requirement in Germany, […]
Rubella, mumps & Co – What vaccinations does a child need?
Since there is no longer a compulsory vaccination in Germany, parents are faced with the important question soon after the birth of their child: Which diseases should I vaccinate my baby against? Proponents advise full primary immunization. Vaccine opponents warn of possible side effects. The fact is: vaccinations prevent the outbreak of dangerous diseases, which are often associated with complications.
In the meantime, illnesses such as diphtheria, tetanus or polio are practically no longer present in us. However, it is a misconception that it is no longer necessary to be vaccinated. The pathogens can easily be introduced from other countries in the world.
The measles epidemic in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2006 showed how important it is to have current vaccination protection. This year, 263 people have measles in Germany. Especially children with insufficient vaccination protection don’t just walk danger to fall ill themselves, they can also infect others.
Experts strongly advise against so-called “measles parties”, to which some parents send their offspring so that they can go through the disease in a natural way: measles is not a harmless childhood disease; natural infection does not train the immune system better than vaccination. Vaccination is also far less stressful for the small body than the disease itself.
When to vaccinate? Vaccinate against?
Parents can get advice from their pediatrician on what vaccination is needed when and how often. The recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Committee (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin provide important guidance. The vaccination calendar and recommendations, which are updated annually, state which injections a child should receive and when: A healthy baby receives his first vaccination as early as the second month of life on the recommendation of STIKO.
So that it does not have to be pricked unnecessarily often, the doctor uses so-called "combination vaccines". With the first vaccination, a child receives the vaccines for five or six different infectious diseases with a single syringe.
These multiple vaccines do not burden the small body more than single vaccinations. Scientific studies have shown that the defense against infants would theoretically even be able to react to up to 10,000 vaccines at the same time.
The doctor records all vaccinations the child receives in the vaccination certificate so that important Time intervals between the different injections are observed. If the child is sick on the vaccination date, they can do the vaccination at a later time. Indeed can at banal infections are still vaccinated, provided there is no high fever.
It is important that they also receive all booster shots so that they have full vaccination protection. This is the only way to prepare the little ones for serious infections at an early stage. With a few exceptions, statutory health insurance companies pay for all vaccinations recommended by STIKO up to the age of 18. After that, some of them have to be paid privately.
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Sophie Matzik is a freelance writer for the NetDoktor medical editorial team. This text corresponds to the specifications of the medical literature, medical…