[Preventive vaccinations for medical personnel]

Vaccinations are among the most efficient and important preventive medical procedures. Modern vaccines are well tolerated. In Germany there are no longer laws for mandatory vaccinations, either for the general public or for medical personnel. Vaccinations are now merely "officially recommended" by the top health authorities on the basis of recommendations from the Standing Committee on Vaccinations (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) according to § 20 para 3 of the Protection against Infection law (IfSG). The management of vaccine damage due to officially recommended vaccinations is guaranteed by the Federal States. Whereas vaccinations in childhood are generally considered to be a matter of course, the willingness to accept them decreases markedly with increasing age. In the medical sector vaccinations against, for example, hepatitis B are well accepted while other vaccinations against, for example, whooping cough or influenza are not considered to be so important. The fact that vaccinations, besides offering protection for the medical personnel, may also serve to protect the patients entrusted to medical care from nosocomial infections is often ignored.