title: [Vaccinations: the necessary and the desirable].
abstract: Most routine childhood vaccinations are well established in Switzerland. The high rate of protection must be maintained as long as the corresponding infectious agents have not been eradicated. The implementation of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination scheme for boys and girls must be improved, with special emphasis on the timely application of the first dose during the second year of life as well as the catch-up dose at school age. The current low MMR vaccination rates carry the risk of increased age-dependent complications in the future. The potential for a substantial reduction in morbidity and mortality by recommended vaccinations for adults, particularly for influenza and pneumococcal infections in the elderly, deserves increased attention and commitment. Every medical consultation should be considered an opportunity to update immunity and to cope with gaps in the implementation of the vaccination schedule, in order to achieve optimal protection for the individual as well as for the population. The need for improved, as well as new, types of vaccines should not deter us from the use of currently available vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie, Universität Bern.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007223:Infant; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D008297:Male; D008458:Measles Vaccine; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine; D009108:Mumps Vaccine; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D012411:Rubella Vaccine; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017778:Vaccines, Combined
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D008458:Measles Vaccine; D022542:Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine; D009108:Mumps Vaccine; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines; D012411:Rubella Vaccine; D017778:Vaccines, Combined