A sharepic is circulating on Facebook that shows how few people got measles in 2018.

Apparently there were only 543 cases of measles, and no one died from it. Surprise: the numbers on the Sharepic are even correct!

The sharepic about the measles diseases in 2018
The sharepic about the measles diseases in 2018

The text on the sharepic:

“According to the Robert Koch Institute, exactly 543 of 82 million Germans were diagnosed with measles in 2018.
That's 0.00065%.
Deaths: 0
Mandatory vaccination?
License to print money for Big Pharma!
Sharing is healing.”

Are the numbers correct?

That's them! As you can also read in a PDF from the Robert Koch Institute on notifiable diseases in 2018 (page 40), the numbers are correct:

Image source: RKI, measles diseases 2018
Image source: RKI , measles diseases 2018

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“But Facebook says it’s fake!”

Some users apparently believe this, as Facebook now labels fakes more clearly. However, the colleagues from “ Correctiv ”, whose fact check causes the display, are not saying that this is a fake, but rather partially incorrect information, and that is correct!

The measles sharepic is superimposed on Facebook
The measles sharepic is superimposed on Facebook

So are vaccinations unnecessary?

The sharepic is a nice example of how quickly facts are mixed with unthought-out opinions. However, while the numbers are still correct, the conclusion is completely wrong.

Let's just take a quick look at the statistics from the Robert Koch Institute!

Image source: RKI, measles diseases and vaccinations over the years
Image sources: RKI , measles diseases and vaccinations over the years

In 2001, the vaccination rate against measles and rubella among 4 to 7 year olds was only 25.9 percent; in 2016 it was 92.9 percent.
In comparison: In 2001 there were 6,039 cases of measles, in 2016 there were only 325. From time to time there were local outbreaks that caused the numbers to skyrocket for a year, but the trend continues to fall.

The overall vaccination rate against measles in Germany is only 73.9 percent , although according to the Federal Ministry of Health more than 95 percent would be necessary to prevent measles outbreaks. Hamburg has the highest vaccination rate at 80.5 percent, Saxony has the lowest at 24.9 percent.

But to answer the question in the subheading: Yes, measles vaccinations are necessary for the reasons explained above!

It is precisely because the vaccination rate continues to rise, especially among children, who are most vulnerable, that there are so few illnesses. However, in order to ensure that the number of diseases continues to decrease, the vaccination rate must be kept at a high level until measles is finally considered eradicated.

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Conclusion

The numbers are correct, the conclusion is wrong:

Precisely because there is a relatively high vaccination rate against measles, there are so few illnesses and only 15 deaths from 2001 to 2012. However, since 73.9 percent is too low a rate to permanently prevent the disease in Germany (especially adults and... older people believe that they cannot get measles), there is discussion about compulsory measles vaccination.

A compulsory vaccination that would not be necessary at all if various sources did not spread unnecessary fears and conspiratorial panics about vaccinations.

Article image: Shutterstock / By Romolo Tavani

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Notes:
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