Bavaria’s parents are increasingly protecting their children from tetanus, polio and whooping cough: The proportion of children under the age of two who have not received any of the recommended standard vaccinations has fallen during the corona pandemic. “In the children born in the first half of 2019, the rate of completely unvaccinated two-year-olds in Bavaria fell to 3.7 percent,” explained the head of the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) in Bavaria, Christian Bredl, on Wednesday in Munich. “For children who were born before the Corona period in 2016, the rate of unvaccinated small children after two years was 5.2 percent, around a third higher.”
The Standing Vaccination Commission recommends a total of 13 vaccinations for small children up to their second birthday. According to TK data, which extends to July 2021, around 45 percent of all children under the age of two have received all of the scheduled vaccinations, and almost 52 percent are still missing at least one (partial) vaccination. There was a sharp drop in the number of unvaccinated people from almost ten to six percent for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination, which is now mandatory for daycare centers and schools. The rate of fully vaccinated two-year-olds born in the first half of 2019 rose to almost 84 percent. In addition, there were around ten percent who had already had the first of the two partial vaccinations.
The Techniker Krankenkasse derives these figures from the data of its insured persons. With 1.45 million members, it is one of the largest health insurers in Bavaria, so the results can be applied to the general public.