Interest in most recommended vaccinations in Saxony has fallen again. This was the result of an answer published on Friday to a minor question from the Left Party in the Saxon state parliament. It concerns comparative figures from 2017 to 2022; data for 2023 is not yet available, it said. The "Leipziger Volkszeitung" had already reported on vaccination fatigue on Friday with reference to the Left Party's inquiry.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the demand for vaccinations against rotavirus, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, chickenpox, measles-mumps-rubella and influenza (flu), among others, has declined. From 2017 to 2022, the number of vaccinations against hepatitis B fell by 40.5 percent, tetanus by 27 percent and whooping cough by 25 percent.
The only clear upward trend was in vaccinations against meningococcus. Vaccination figures against TBE and human papillomavirus (HPV) have recently risen again, but have not yet reached the level of previous years.
Party leader and health expert Susanne Schaper also linked the increasing vaccination fatigue to the coronavirus pandemic. It had led to a slump in vaccinations. However, interest in important vaccinations has been declining since at least 2017.
"It is clear that the debates surrounding the coronavirus vaccination have been controversial and have obviously caused uncertainty. However, this should not obscure the fact that the vaccinations that have been established and recommended for many years protect us from a whole range of dangerous infectious diseases," explained Schaper. Smallpox has been eradicated by vaccination, and the same applies to polio in Germany.
"I can only appeal to all citizens to take the opportunity to vaccinate themselves and their children and to contact medical staff if they have any questions or doubts," said Schaper, a trained nurse. Advice on vaccinations must be expanded,
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