On 1 March 2020, a manda\u00adtory measles vacci\u00adna\u00adtion law came into force in Germany to contain the spread of the highly conta\u00adgious disease. But what has changed since then? Has the law increased the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate and prevented outbreaks?<\/p>\n
Why was the manda\u00adtory vacci\u00adna\u00adtion law introduced?<\/b><\/p>\n
Before the intro\u00adduc\u00adtion of the law, the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate in Germany was below the 95% recom\u00admended by the WHO, which meant that the country was regu\u00adlarly hit by measles outbreaks. Measles is not a harm\u00adless child\u00adhood disease \u2013 in addi\u00adtion to fever and skin rashes, it can cause serious compli\u00adca\u00adtions such as pneu\u00admonia or ence\u00adpha\u00adlitis. Infants, immu\u00adn\u00ado\u00adcom\u00adpro\u00admised indi\u00advi\u00adduals and people who cannot be vacci\u00adnated are parti\u00adcu\u00adlarly at risk.<\/p>\n
The effects of compul\u00adsory vaccination<\/b><\/p>\n
Compul\u00adsory vacci\u00adna\u00adtion affects children in daycare centres and schools, as well as employees in medical faci\u00adli\u00adties and shared accom\u00admo\u00adda\u00adtion. Parents must prove that their child has been vacci\u00adnated before they can be admitted to a care faci\u00adlity. Viola\u00adtions are punis\u00adhable by fines of up to \u20ac2,500, although these are enforced with varying degrees of consistency.<\/p>\n
Since the law was intro\u00adduced, the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate has increased slightly. The propor\u00adtion of children starting school with full measles vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rose from 93% to around 95%, meeting the WHO recom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion for the first time. In addi\u00adtion, many adults who had previously not been vacci\u00adnated or had only been parti\u00adally vacci\u00adnated caught up on the vaccination.<\/p>\n
Nevert\u00adheless, chal\u00adlenges remain: immu\u00adnity gaps persist in some federal states, and certain groups \u2013 such as parents scep\u00adtical of vacci\u00adna\u00adtion \u2013 are diffi\u00adcult to reach. The fact that the measles vaccine is only available in Germany as a combi\u00adna\u00adtion vaccine (toge\u00adther with mumps and rubella, and some\u00adtimes chickenpox) also deters some people.<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic also led to delays in routine vacci\u00adna\u00adtions, which affected the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate. Mean\u00adwhile, more than half of measles cases occur in people over the age of 15, who are at increased risk of complications.<\/p>\n
Measles cases in Germany and worldwide<\/b><\/p>\n
Despite manda\u00adtory vacci\u00adna\u00adtion, outbreaks continue to occur. In 2024, around 550 cases of measles were reported in Germany \u2013 a signi\u00adfi\u00adcant increase compared to previous years. Most of those affected were unvac\u00adci\u00adnated, which shows that immu\u00adnity gaps have not yet been closed.<\/p>\n
A look at the USA shows what can happen when people become less willing to be vacci\u00adnated. Measles was declared elimi\u00adnated there in 2000, but there have been more outbreaks in recent years, espe\u00adci\u00adally in commu\u00adni\u00adties that are scep\u00adtical of vacci\u00adna\u00adtion. In early 2024, over 130 cases of measles were reported in Texas and New Mexico, inclu\u00adding the first child death in ten years.<\/p>\n
World\u00adwide, measles is on the rise: case numbers increased by 20% within one year. In 2023, there were around 10.3 million cases and almost 110,000 deaths, mainly among children under five years of age.<\/p>\n
Conclu\u00adsion<\/b><\/p>\n
The manda\u00adtory measles vacci\u00adna\u00adtion has improved the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate and is helping to contain the disease. Nevert\u00adheless, further efforts are needed to close vacci\u00adna\u00adtion gaps and control measles in the long term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On 1 March 2020, a manda\u00adtory measles vacci\u00adna\u00adtion law came into force in Germany to contain the spread of the highly conta\u00adgious disease. But what has changed since then? Has the law increased the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate and prevented outbreaks? Why was the manda\u00adtory vacci\u00adna\u00adtion law intro\u00adduced? Before the intro\u00adduc\u00adtion of the law, the vacci\u00adna\u00adtion rate [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n