[Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)]. / Impfung gegen coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The clinical presentation of infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV­2) is very heterogeneous and the risk of a severe course clearly increases with age. Therefore, older adults are an important target group for vaccinations. Several vaccines are currently licensed in Europe for older adults, namely two mRNA vaccines, two adenoviral vector vaccines and a protein-based vaccine. The immunogenicity and clinical efficacy of these vaccines in the first approval trials were equal or only slightly reduced for older adults compared to younger age groups; however, the concentration of neutralizing antibodies and protection against infection greatly declined over time and the latter is substantially reduced for virus variants, particularly for the Omicron variant. Nevertheless, protection against severe disease and hospitalization is maintained at a high level for longer time periods, and after three vaccine doses (2 + 1 schedule) also for the Omicron variant. Additional booster vaccinations are currently recommended for patients with risk factors, especially older adults. With respect to the currently valid recommendations for different age and risk groups, the publications and notifications of the national vaccine advisory bodies should be referred to.All currently available vaccines target the original virus strain. New vaccines, which are adapted to virus variants are currently being developed and tested, and it is highly likely that they will be used in the near future; however, viral evolution is ongoing and a continuous development of adapted vaccines will probably be necessary.

Resumption of active recommendation of the human papillomavirus vaccine in Japan and future challenges for the National Immunization Program.

Japan's immunization program resumed proactively recommending the use of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine nationwide in April 2022, after suspending this recommendation in June 2013. The promotion of catch-up vaccinations is an urgent issue to reduce the increase in cervical cancer and other cancers caused by low vaccination rates. In addition, the National Immunization Program still has issues to be considered, such as the adoption of the 9-valent vaccine, establishment of an appropriate number of vaccinations according to age, and routine immunization of males. There is a history of eliminating the use of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the mouse brain-derived, purified inactivated Japanese encephalitis vaccine, as well as suspending the HPV vaccine recommendation in Japan. These decisions have led to the current preventable infectious disease burden. In order to make the right policy decisions based on science-based assessments, it is necessary to establish a safety assessment platform to evaluate the causal relationship between vaccines and adverse events following immunization. Information technology, which has been promoted with the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in the current pandemic, may assist in providing more detailed vaccine safety evaluations for other vaccines.

Vaccination in PADs.

Primary antibody deficiencies (PADs) are the most common primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs). They can be divided into the following groups, depending on their immunological features: agammaglobulinemia; common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) isotype; hyper IgM isotype; light chain or functional deficiencies with normal B cell count; specific antibody deficiency with normal Ig concentrations and normal numbers of B cells and transient hypogammaglobulinemia of infancy. The role of vaccination in PADs is recognized as therapeutic, diagnostic and prognostic and may be used in patients with residual B-cell function to provide humoral immunity to specific infective agents. According to their content and mechanisms, vaccines are grouped as live attenuated, inactivated (conjugated, polysaccharide), mRNA or replication-deficient vector vaccines. Vaccination may be unsafe or less effective when using certain vaccines and in specific types of immunodeficiency. Inactivated vaccines can be administered in PAD patients even if they could not generate a protective response; live attenuated vaccines are not recommended in major antibody deficiencies. From December 2020, European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccines against COVID-19 infection: according to ESID advises, those vaccinations are recommended in patients with PADs. No specific data are available on safety and efficacy in PAD patients.

[The urologist as a vaccinator]. / Der Urologe als Impfarzt.

Vaccines are one of the most effective weapons of humankind in the fight against various infectious diseases. Therefore, physicians from all specialties should not only regularly confirm their knowledge regarding vaccinations but also actively offer them in their daily routine. Urologists can use various vaccination offers to help protect their patients' future health. In addition to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations for children and adolescents, this article shows how urologists who provide vaccines can fulfill their responsibility to implement the state vaccination recommendations to patients over the age of 60. Among others, HPV vaccination can have the effect of finally eradicating an evolutionary burden of humanity. In addition to standard vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, special vaccinations also protect individuals over the age of 60 against pneumococci, influenza and herpes zoster. Moreover, urologists may in the future also save patients from COVID-19-the disease that actually made people aware of vaccinations again.