Vaccinations are important! rubella, measles and hepatitis. We all have them. A vaccination card accompanies us from an early age. But as adults, we rarely pick it up. Either because we don’t think about it, we misplaced it or because we somehow feel uncomfortable with the thought of vaccination. What healthy person would like to go to the doctor voluntarily? Currently, only every second adult in Germany is adequately protected against diphtheria, every third person misses the booster vaccination against tetanus, and only every tenth person is armed against whooping cough. As a result of declining vaccination rates, diseases such as whooping cough are returningor measles back. Vaccination is safe and important for everyone: It is one of the most effective preventive medical measures. By allowing ourselves to be pricked, our body can learn to fight off pathogens.
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exercise for the body
Vaccination can be compared to a fire drill in an office building: All employees gather at a signal and leave the building together. Afterwards, they know how to behave, which way to save them is the quickest way out – and they are up to the emergency. A vaccination also simulates an emergency: it contains pathogens that have been rendered harmless. Nevertheless, our immune system forms defenses (antibodies) against it as well as memory cells that remember the properties of the pathogen. If they return in an active form, the immune system recognizes them and activates the learned program: Viruses or bacteria cannot spread – we are immune. Depending on the vaccine, it takes a longer or shorter time for our body to build up the basic immunization against a disease. For example, components of the pathogen that have been rendered harmless are used to vaccinate against diphtheria or tetanus, while weakened ones that are still capable of reproduction are used against measles or chickenpox. With the latter, the immune system has to work harder. Since it deals more intensively with the intruders, they usually remain unforgettable to it. We have to remind them of the others, who are more easily kept in check, during the basic immunization with partial vaccinations and later regularly with refreshments. In Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) determines when this should happen and which vaccinations are recommended (and thus paid for by the health insurance companies). The panel of doctors, scientists and health experts weighs up the benefits and risks based on the latest data. Recently, two have been added for adults: whooping cough and measles. “Today, over half of measles cases affect adolescents and adults. The average age for whooping cough is 42 years,” warns Dr. Jan Leidel, Chairman of STIKO.
Both diseases are not always mild and can lead to serious complications. If parents or grandparents infect a baby with one of the two pathogens, it can be life-threatening for the baby. This is one of the reasons why doctors recommend getting vaccinated: to protect others from the pathogens. “Babies are still too young for some vaccinations, for example, you can only have them immunized against measles from the age of nine months. Even with certain diseases, such as a severe weakening of the immune system, some vaccinations must not be carried out,” says Dr. Jan Leidel. These individuals depend on livestock protection working around them. It works when so many people are vaccinated that pathogens spread only with difficulty and thus cannot penetrate to the unvaccinated – the masses protect individual weak ones in their midst like a herd. If a very high percentage of the population is immune – for example, experts say that 95 out of 100 people who need to be vaccinated against measles – a disease can even disappear completely.
Only consistency helps
The often fatal smallpox, for example, has not appeared anywhere for 35 years. In order to tackle the highly contagious virus, the World Health Organization had successfully carried out global vaccination campaigns. Polio is also no longer found in Europe and America. No reason to sit back and skip the vaccine: polio is still endemic in parts of Africa and Asia. If it got to us, it could spread again. For a long time, the USA was considered measles-free – but now the virus is returning because of the vaccination fatigue prevailing there. In Germany, there have also been repeated outbreaks of measles in recent years. In Berlin, more than 1,000 people were recently infected within a few months.
Vaccination? Is unnecessary!
“The success of vaccination is its greatest enemy today,” says Dr. Jan Leidel and says: Because vaccinations work so reliably, many diseases have lost their terror. There are no longer any reports about them, we personally do not know anyone who is affected – and we are thinking less and less about vaccination ourselves. “At the same time, concerns about the side effects of vaccination are increasing. Of course, if you are healthy, you don’t want to put up with it,” he says. But the fears are unfounded. Serious complications are extremely rare. The puncture site often swells and turns red. But this normal vaccination reaction shows that the body is dealing with the pathogen and building up protection. “Some people don’t feel fit the next day, as if it had been too late the night before,” says Dr. sorry A rash can also appear a week after the measles vaccination. The fear persists that the measles vaccination could trigger autism. This is nonsense. The study that made this connection turned out to be fake. The British doctor who performed them lost his license to practice.
Instant protection with spades
Incidentally, some vaccinations are still effective even if you have just been infected with a certain disease: With a so-called passive vaccination, the immune system does not have to form antibodies against the pathogen itself, they are administered directly by injection. However, if you need one, you have to react quickly. If, for example, earth has gotten into a wound while working in the garden, there is a risk of tetanus. Then everyone who has not been vaccinated should go to the doctor immediately. In the case of measles, protection is still possible for three days and in the case of whooping cough seven days after contact (which can take place unnoticed). However, the immediate protection does not last long because the body slowly breaks down the administered antibodies and has not formed any memory cells. So he doesn’t learn to defend himself later.
European Vaccination Week
The European Vaccination Week (EIW) has also made it its task to bring the subject of vaccination more to the fore. The aim is to achieve a higher vaccination rate by raising awareness among parents and carers, health professionals, policy makers and the media. The EIW is an initiative of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. All Member States in the European Region are invited to participate. In 2020, the European Vaccination Week will take place from April 20th to 26th under the motto “Prevention. Protect. Vaccination.” instead. This message is to be carried to all parts of the European Region.
