STIKO vaccination calendar: These vaccinations are recommended
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute recommends a series of vaccinations for the first months of your child’s life. In the vaccination calendar you can find out which vaccinations these are in detail and at what time they should be carried out. You can also download or print out the practical vaccination calendar.
STIKO vaccination calendar
Thevaccination calendar of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) contains the recommended standard vaccinations for infants, children, adolescents and adults and is updated annually. On the website of the RKI you will find thevaccination calendar for download (in PDF format). It also contains all explanations of the recommendations.
The sixfold vaccination in the vaccination calendar
Thesixfold vaccinationprotects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B. It has been used for several years to reduce the number of individual injections. In 2020, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) also updated its recommendation for the sixfold vaccination. The reduced “2+1 vaccination schedule” is now recommended instead of the previous “3+1 vaccination schedule”, i.e. one vaccine dose less. The aim of this measure is to simplify the vaccination schedule and save doctor’s appointments for your baby and you. Of course, the new vaccination schedule offers comparable vaccination protection.
The vaccination series for primary vaccination should be started at the age of 8 weeks to ensure safe vaccination protection. The following vaccinations should be carried out at the age of 4 and 11 months, with an interval of at least 6 months between the last two vaccinations.
A combined vaccination has both advantages and disadvantages. Since you have to attend significantly fewer vaccination appointments, you can save your child and you stress. Also, the costs of combination vaccinations are lower than those of individual vaccinations. On the other hand, your baby’s immune system is more stressed by a combination vaccination than with a single vaccination, as it has to react to different pathogens at the same time. This can cause unpleasant side effects such as fever or fatigue. However, your paediatrician will advise you in detail and answer all your questions.
The rotavirus vaccine
Rotaviruses are the most common diarrhoea pathogens in infants and young children. By the age of 3, around 90 percent of all children have undergone a rotavirus infection. The STIKO recommends the rotavirus vaccination from the age of six weeks (up to the age of 12 weeks at the latest). Depending on the vaccine, two or three doses of vaccine are given four weeks apart. Rotavirus vaccination is an oral vaccine with a live oral vaccine.
The pneumococcal vaccination
Pneumococci are widespread bacteria that are responsible for bacterial middle ear and pneumonia in children in a variety of cases. Since 2015, STIKO has recommendedpneumococcal vaccinationfor infants and toddlers aged 2, 4 and 11-14 months. Here, too, the vaccination schedule has changed, instead of the previous four vaccine doses, only three will be administered in the future. The first two vaccinations are used for basic immunization, the third vaccination is a booster vaccination. A new refresher is only necessary from the age of 60 at intervals of six years.
MMR vaccination according to vaccination calendar
Towards the end of the first year of life, another combination vaccination is recommended to protect your child against measles, mumps and rubella. The firstMMR vaccinationcan be carried out from the 11th month, after a break of four to six weeks, immunization can be continued.
The chickenpox vaccination (varicella)
Either simultaneously or four weeks after MMR vaccination,immunization against varicella, better known as chickenpox, is recommended. Since the procedure of the two vaccinations is exactly the same, a combination vaccination, the MMR-V vaccination, has been offered for several years. The total of two vaccine doses are preferably administered at the age of 11 to 14 months (1st vaccination) and 15 to 23 months (2nd vaccination).
Vaccination against meningococcal
In the second year of life or from the age of 12 months, the STIKO vaccination calendar recommends that your child bevaccinated against meningococci. These bacteria can cause meningitis or blood poisoning, with infants being a special risk group.
Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV)
According to the STIKO vaccination calendar, vaccinationagainst human papillomavirusesis recommended for girls and boys between the ages of nine and 14. In addition to cervical cancer, the viruses can cause various other HPV-related cancers. This often happens during the first sexual contact. The vaccination takes place in two doses at an interval of at least five months (three doses are necessary for shorter intervals), which should be administered before the first sexual intercourse if possible.
Vaccination against influenza (real flu)
After the age of 60, an annual, standard vaccination against influenza is recommended. For children with an increased health risk as a result of an underlying disease, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends vaccination against influenza from the age of 6 months. Children usually receive the same dose as adults.