Lower Saxony's Chamber President appeals to the population to have their polio vaccination status checked

Hanover. On the occasion of World Polio Day on October 24, the President of the Lower Saxony Medical Association, Dr. Martina Wenker, called on patients of general practitioners in the state to have their polio vaccination status checked at the practices.

The background to this appeal is the fact that in many countries the oral vaccine containing attenuated live polio pathogens is still widely used for prevention.

As a result, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) discovered polioviruses derived from oral vaccines in the wastewater of several German cities last year and indicated this summer that transmission in Germany was becoming increasingly likely. "So far, no cases of illness have been documented," says Wenker. However, the public should check their vaccination status.

Deficiencies in basic immunization

According to RKI statistics, only about 21 percent of one-year-olds in Germany are fully vaccinated against polio, “although basic immunization should be completed by this age,” according to the Medical Association of Lower Saxony (ÄKN).

Furthermore, only 77 percent of two-year-old children were fully vaccinated against polio infection. However, immunocompromised adults are also considered at risk.

"Everyone should have adequate polio vaccination," said Wenker. "Like all other vaccinations, the polio vaccination is regularly reviewed by general practitioners. Given the increasing incidence of polio, but also in view of the upcoming flu season, for example, patients are advised to make an appointment at their practice to have their individual vaccination status checked and updated if necessary."