Vaccination practices in Germany are driven by scientific developments and a complex regulatory environment. Some important developments in 2019/20 are described here: Work-related vaccination recommendations for measles, rubella, and chickenpox have been streamlined and expanded. In addition, measles vaccination or documentation of immunity is now mandatory for employment at and attendance of many institutions, specifically including day care centers and schools. Owing to the shift of pneumococcal serotypes since the introduction of conjugate vaccines the US ACIP no longer recommends these for the routine administration to healthy persons of older age. Reduced series of 2 or even 1 dose of an HPV vaccine may be sufficient, however definitive RCT data are not yet available. After years of development and clinical studies the first vaccine against Ebolavirus disease has been licensed by EMA in November and by FDA in December 2019. More than 150 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates are being developed with massive financial support, several phase 1/2 trials have started. A licensed vaccine may actually be available in 2021 and thus dramatically faster compared to any other modern vaccine development.
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