Fewer Germans have measles jab despite 2015 outbreak
NAN-F-21
Measles
Berlin, April 24, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Fewer people were vaccinated against measles in Germany in 2016, the German Association of Pharmacists (ABDA) said on Monday.
Pharmacies handed out 1.9 million vaccine doses to doctors in 2016, an 18-per-cent drop from the previous year, according to calculations by the German Institute for Drug Therapy.
In 2015, a large measles outbreak in Berlin meant 2.3 million vaccine doses were given out, an increase of 46 per cent compared with 2014.
“The measles outbreak two years ago obviously had only a short-term positive effect on vaccination,” ABDA Vice-President Mathias Arnold said.
“The goal, however, must be to reach a consistently high vaccination rate in all age groups.”
“Those who vaccinate are not only protecting themselves, however, their families and the entire population,’’ he said.
The German Academy for Child and Adolescent Medicine (DAKJ) has warned of an increase in measles cases.
Of the more than 450 measles cases registered at the government’s Robert Koch Institute, more than 50 involved babies.
The highly infectious disease can be deadly to infants.
Experts worry that opponents of vaccination are using misinformation, particularly on the Internet, to persuade people not to have a jab. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf