[Immunisation rates of routine vaccinations for school starters as a quantitative measure in the vaccination...

The aim of this retrospective long-term investigation was to compare the recommended routine vaccinations for school starters in the region of Dingolfing-Landau, recording the results separately by birth years and comparing these with one another. It was to show to what extent changes in the quantitative measures in the vaccination behaviour were recorded over a period of one decade, respectively to what extent the current recommendations of any one time of the STIKO (Permanent Vaccination Commission of the Robert Koch-Institute) were reflected within each age group. For this purpose during the annual standardised examinations of school starters the rates of vaccinations were recorded according to the various birth years and sex, determined and anonomously evaluated. It was found that of the total eleven examined birth years the vaccinations in series of BCG was reduced continually from a commencing 50 % plus to under 10 %. Regarding vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and polio the frequency for the total examined period commenced at a rate of under 90 %, increasing to over 90 % for the birth years of 1989 and beyond. No child of the birth year of 1984 was completely vaccinated against HiB, whereas the rate of vaccinations rose relatively quickly so that by the birth year 1994 over 90 % of the school starters were completely immunised against this infectious disease. As far as the pertussis and MMR vaccinations were concerned the rate at the beginning of the observation period was between 40 % and 60 %, increasing continually in the following period to over 80 %. By the middle 'eighties hardly any school starters had been vaccinated against hepatitis B, whereas, in the last five examined birth years the rate increased relatively quickly to 64 % maximum. At the beginning of the observed period nearly every fifth school starter had, age related, complete vaccination protection, in respect of the then valid STIKO recommendations. At the end of this decade this applied only to every twelfth child. Due to the high rates of participation of school starters examinations carried out by the Public Child and Youth Health Service it is possible to determine the vaccination rates of children as it relates to the routine vaccinations carried out over a longer period and on a topical basis. As a result the vaccination behaviour, respectively the willingness of a relevant target group during that period can be shown quantitatively. As the investigations of the RKI (Robert Koch-Institute) have shown, the share of the strict opponents of vaccinations is merely between 1.5 % and 5 % resulting in the necessity for intensive educational work and the development of effective vaccination strategies which are needed in order to stabilise the rates of vaccinations, respectively to meet epidemiological requirements at a high level and to further improve the present rate.