21,000 Unvaccinated Children Are Not a Minor Problem, But a Warning Sign

Originally published in Pharmazeutische Zeitung, August 2026.

At first glance, the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF are encouraging. In 2025, more children worldwide were vaccinated than in the previous year. At the same time, however, the data also show how quickly progress can begin to unravel.

In Germany, approximately 21,000 children have not received their first vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. Compared with the country’s overall high vaccination coverage, this may seem like a small number. Nevertheless, it is one that should concern us.

Germany does not have a fundamental vaccination problem. But that is precisely where the challenge lies. Vaccination programmes have been so successful that many people have never experienced the diseases they protect against. Illnesses that were once part of everyday life are now known to many only through stories or textbooks.