Is your child fully vaccinated?

Children are particularly at risk of contracting infectious diseases in the first few years of life. Pathogens spread quickly, especially in nurseries and elementary school. The recommended vaccinations help to prevent serious illnesses. Before starting nursery and elementary school, parents should check their child's vaccinations. Booster vaccinations and catch-up vaccinations can then be given in good time.

According to the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute, children should be vaccinated against infectious diseases from infancy according to a specific vaccination schedule. The vaccination schedule describes at what age and against which infectious diseases a child should be vaccinated. The vaccinations provide effective protection against a number of serious infectious diseases.

For detailed information on infectious diseases, possible risks and how you can protect your family against them, visit the website of the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) at www.impfen-info.de.

The vaccination recommendations for children aged 0 to 12 are summarized on the website of the Federal Centre for Health Education BZgA. You can find details on the following infectious diseases, the course of the disease and vaccination recommendations via the following links:

Combination vaccines are available for some infectious diseases. They are effective against several infectious diseases at the same time. A single "jab" replaces several individual vaccinations. The Standing Committee on Vaccination for Children currently recommends the following combination vaccinations:

• 6-fold combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus (tetanus), polio (polio), whooping cough (pertussis), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B
• Combination vaccine against mumps, measles, rubella (MMR) and, if applicable, chickenpox (MMRV)
• . chickenpox (MMRV)

You can download the vaccination calendar of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) from the website of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Masers are extremely contagious and often lead to complications. In the worst case, secondary diseases such as meningitis can even be fatal. Protection against measles is provided by a double vaccination, which ensures lifelong immunity.

In order to effectively protect children in nurseries and schools against measles, vaccination has been mandatory in Germany since 2020. The Measles Protection Act stipulates that children are not allowed to attend daycare or school without adequate vaccination protection. Proof of measles vaccination must also be provided if the child is cared for by a daycare provider.

Answers to the most important questions about the measles vaccination and the Measles Protection Act can be found on this website of the Federal Ministry of Health.

The Robert Koch Institute has published a fact sheet with brief information about the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination.

There is no compulsory vaccination against COVID-19 for children in Germany. The decision for or against vaccination is up to you and your child.

The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) is constantly updating its recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination for children and adolescents. You can find the latest information on this website of the Robert Koch Institute.

How do children learn to protect themselves from infectious diseases? The www.infektionsschutz.de portal offers child-friendly information in the "Films for children" category. The entertaining video spots help to educate children about infection prevention:

• Agent Blitz Blank: Bösen Vibas auf der Spur (running time 04:22)
• Händewaschlied: Hands wet (running time 01:08)