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Vaccination is the most celebrated and denigrated achievement of medicine and public health – not only today, but since Edward Jenner's time (1798). In fact, the idea of injecting a mild form of "disease" into a healthy person was attacked even earlier than the discovery of vaccines. The forerunner of Jenner's vaccination with bovine lymph was the inoculation of smallpox material from person to person, which, known in Europe since the beginning of the eighteenth century, was a target of harsh criticism. The reasons for criticizing the Jennerian vaccination and its mandatory practice were medical, anthropological, biological (vaccination is not safe), religious and ethical (it is wrong to inoculate a healthy person with disease), and political (vaccination is a threat to individual freedom). As such, anti-vaccination groups emerged in England, where inoculation was adopted early, as well as overall in Europe and in the United States. This paper focuses on the lesser known debate that arose in Germany in the years 1852–53 about the medical practice of vaccination. This is an a important topic of public health that has aroused a wide debate and comparison especially in recent years and now with pandemic on Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) and will probably be the subject of further reflection and consideration in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crises like the COVID-19 pandemic bring along challenges for individuals and society. In the case of Germany, vaccination against COVID-19 was identified as the primary measure to overcome the pandemic. This put those individuals in the spotlight who did not decide for it. This paper aims to analyze how vaccinated people perceived the group of unvaccinated individuals and whether they wished to punish those who did not contribute to ending the pandemic by vaccination. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted in the spring of 2022. Two hundred eighty-five answered the questionnaire. As a result, many respondents tried to make the best of the pandemic, although many reported negative emotions. Stereotypes of unvaccinated individuals revealed prejudices. Data also demonstrate an attempt to reduce contact with unvaccinated individuals as far as possible and an openness to discrimination or a desire for punishment. Although data result from a relatively small study, they can provide an illustrative example that can stimulate considerations of possible consequences and to further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates essential steps in build‐up of models for description of the spread of infectious diseases. Combining these modules, a SEI3RSD model will be developed, which can take into account a possible passive immunisation by vaccination as well as different durations of latent and incubation periods. Besides, infectious persons with and without symptoms can be distinguished. Due to the current world‐wide SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic (COVID‐19 pandemic) models for description of the spread of infectious diseases and their application for forecasts have become into the focus of the scientific community as well as of broad public more than usual. Currently, many papers and studies have appeared and appear dealing with the virus SARS‐CoV‐2 and the COVID‐19 disease caused by it. This occurs under medical, virological, economic, sociological and further aspects as well as under mathematical points of view. Concerning the last‐mentioned point, the main focus lies on the application of existing models and their adaptation to data about the course of infection available at the current time. Clearly, the aim is to predict the possible further development, for instance in Germany. It is of particular interest to investigate how will be the influence of political and administrative measures like contact restrictions, closing or rather re‐opening of schools, restaurants, hotels etc. on the course of infection. The steps considered here for building up suitable models are well‐known for long time. However, understandably they will not be dealt with in an extended way in current application‐oriented works. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to present some existing steps of modelling without any pretension of completeness. Thus, on the one hand we give assistance and, on the other hand, we develop a model capable to take already known properties of COVID‐19 as well as a later possible passive immunisation by vaccination and a possible loss of immunity of recovered persons into account. The present study investigates essential steps in build‐up of models for description of the spread of infectious diseases. Combining these modules, a SEI3RSD model will be developed, which can take into account a possible passive immunisation by vaccination as well as different durations of latent and incubation periods. Besides, infectious persons with and without symptoms can be distinguished. Due to the current world‐wide SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic (COVID‐19 pandemic) models for description of the spread of infectious diseases and their application for forecasts have become into the focus of the scientific community as well as of broad public more than usual.... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of perceived disease risk in vaccination behavior. Using health insurance claims data, I estimate the effect of local measles outbreaks in Germany on first- and second-dose measles vaccinations in children as well as catch-up vaccinations in adults. In my analytic strategy, I exploit the variation in timing and location of regional disease outbreaks and estimate a two-way fixed effects model with birth cohort and region fixed effects. The basic underlying assumption is that measles outbreaks alter perceptions regarding the disease risk. The robustness of this approach concerning possible bias due to heterogeneous treatment effects under differential treatment timing is assessed through the use of alternative estimators. Measles outbreaks within a region increase the share of children who receive their vaccination on time by 0.8 percentage points for both the first and second vaccination. This corresponds to a reduction in the share of not timely vaccinated children of about 1.0% and 1.6% for the first and second doses, respectively. Results further show an increase in the rate of monthly catch-up vaccinations in adults by about 10% for the age group 20–30 to up to 46% for those at ages 40–50 in the first six months after an outbreak. One important finding is that regional outbreaks do not lead to increases in vaccinations in other regions even if public attention extends beyond the affected region. These results suggest that behavioral responses are driven by affective rather than deliberative risk perception. Also, vaccination effects can be observed only in the few months following the outbreak, which indicates that changes in the perceived disease risk due to a local measles outbreak are short-lived and fade away quickly once the disease outbreak is over. • Measles outbreaks increase the share of children with on-time measles vaccination. • Outbreaks affect the timing, though not the overall long-term vaccination coverage. • Measles outbreaks also increase the rate of monthly catch-up vaccinations in adults. • Vaccination effects are observed only in the few months following an outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to a more nuanced discourse on vaccination policy. Current polarization between either mandatory and entirely voluntary is misleading, as virtually all immunization programs feature a combination of instruments that comprise mandatory and voluntary elements. We develop this argument by presenting five case studies from the European Union (EU). By systematically acknowledging the nuances of political and institutional varieties, we build the case for reframing the terms of the debate in the EU and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The objective of this survey was to analyse vaccination rates and attitudes towards vaccination among health care workers (HCWs). The period prevalence of self-reported acute respiratory infections in the influenza season 2014/2015 was examined. Study design A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs of a German university hospital using an anonymised questionnaire. Recruitment was performed by providing all medical and nursing staff a paper questionnaire with an invitation to participate. Methods Descriptive aggregated data were generated from digitalised questionnaires for all variables. Differences in categorical variables were analysed by Chi-squared test. Textual data were analysed by an iterative process based on the grounded theory by Glaser and Strauss. Results The response rate was 31% (677/2186). Probable influenza was described by 9% (64/677) of the participants. The overall self-reported vaccination rate was 55% (366/666). Self-reported vaccination rate was higher in physicians (172/239, 72%) than in nursing staff (188/418, 45%). HCWs in paediatrics (103/148, 70%) more likely received vaccines than HCWs in surgery (31/84, 37%). Most vaccinations were provided by medical staff on the wards (164/368, 45%). Self-reported lost work-time due to adverse events after vaccination was low (6/336, 2%). Eight categories for vaccine refusal were identified, whereof doubts about effectiveness and indication of the vaccine was most frequently mentioned (72/202, 36%). Conclusions Efforts to promote vaccination should focus on nursing staff and should provide scientific evidence on effectiveness, adverse effects, and the benefits of health care workers' vaccination for patients. Administering vaccines at the workplace proved to be a successful strategy in our setting. Studies are needed to assess the frequency of influenza causing disease in HCWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio (Tdap-IPV) are not optimal among German adolescents. Education in combination with easy access to vaccination may be a promising approach to improve vaccination rates. The present paper describes a pilot study of a planned cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in which we aim to improve MMR and Tdap-IPV vaccination rates together with knowledge and self-efficacy in a school setting.Methods: The study covered 863 students from 41 classes of four schools. The optimization and feasibility of access to schools, recruitment strategies, intervention, and assessment procedures were examined. The course and content of the educational unit were evaluated with a mixed-methods approach. A pre-post measurement design was tested for the vaccination rate in all schools. Additionally, at two schools, improvement in vaccination-related knowledge and perceived self-efficacy were measured by questionnaire pre-educational unit (n=287) and post-educational unit (n=293). The remaining two schools provided only postintervention data. Finally, we evaluated the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, retest reliability, and change rates) of the questionnaire, applying Cronbach's alpha, factor analyses, generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models.Results: The findings of the pilot study indicated good feasibility. Of the total sample, 437 students (50.9%) brought their vaccination cards to school, 68 students received Tdap-IPV vaccinations, and 11 received MMR vaccinations. Out of six knowledge questions, on average, the students had M=2.84 (95% CI [2.69, 3.10]) correct answers before and M=4.45 (95% CI [4.26, 4.64]) after the class. Ranging from 1 to 4, the self-efficacy scale changed by 0.3 points (p <.001); Cronbach's alpha was 0.67 and 0.76 pre- and post-educational unit, respectively, and a one-factor solution was found. Content analysis of the five semistructured group interviews (n=12, 58.3% female) showed that all students found the length of the intervention to be appropriate. The teaching methods, including interactive and social media components, were perceived as very good.Conclusions: A school-based educational and on-site vaccination intervention appears to be feasible in terms of procedures and the adequacy of the instruments for the adolescent target group.Trial Registration: ISRCTN, ISRCTN18026662 . Pilot study for main trial registered 8 December 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]