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The first conversation about vaccination comes sooner than most parents are ready for: the child is not yet two months old and the paediatrician is already naming dates. Then the confusion begins — the schedules in different countries do not match, acquaintances advise their own version, and on the internet people argue as though this were a matter of faith rather than of medicine. Below is how the question is organised in Germany and what exactly is recommended for children in their first year under the 2026 schedule.
Who in Germany decides what is given and when
The recommendations come from STIKO, the standing committee on vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute. It is an independent expert body: it reviews the data on each vaccine and publishes an updated schedule once a year. A doctor in Germany works to that schedule rather than to personal preference — and this is perhaps the main difference from a situation in which every paediatrician advises something of their own.
The schedule is a recommendation, not an order. One vaccination remains compulsory in Germany: since 2020 proof of vaccination against measles has been required for admission to nursery and school. Everything else parents decide for themselves — but they do so with a single nationwide reference point in front of them rather than a collection of opinions.
The first days: protection against RSV
The newest item in the schedule is something the old ones did not contain at all. All newborns are recommended a single administration of ready-made antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a frequent cause of bronchiolitis in infants. Strictly speaking this is not a vaccination: the child’s body does not produce immunity itself, protective antibodies are given directly. Children born during the RSV season (usually October to March) receive it as soon as possible after birth, ideally on discharge or at the U2 check-up on the 3rd to 10th day of life. Those born between April and September receive it in the autumn, before their first season.
From 6 weeks: rotavirus, without an injection
The first dose of rotavirus vaccine can be given as early as 6 weeks. It is not injected — it is drops in the mouth. Two or three doses are needed in all, depending on the product, with an interval of at least 4 weeks. The course is begun and completed early wherever possible: in very small children rotavirus infection runs the most severe course.
2 and 4 months: the main block
The main course of vaccination starts at 2 months. In a single visit the child receives the six-component vaccine — against tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae type b, polio and hepatitis B — and also vaccinations against pneumococcus and against meningococcus group B. At 4 months all of this is repeated a second time.
It is worth pausing here, because this is the point most often misunderstood. The six-component and the pneumococcal vaccine used to be given four times — at 2, 3 and 4 months and towards the end of the first year. Now three doses are enough for children born at term: 2 months, 4 months and a final one at around 11 months. The visit at 3 months has gone from the schedule — there are fewer injections. An exception is made for preterm infants: for them the additional dose at 3 months has been kept, making four doses in all.
11 to 15 months: completing the course
At about 11 months the child receives the third, final dose of the six-component and the pneumococcal vaccine — no sooner than six months after the previous one. At the same time vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella and against chickenpox begins; these can be given on the same day or four weeks apart. The third dose of the meningococcal B vaccine falls at about 12 months, and the second doses against measles/mumps/rubella and against chickenpox at 15 months. Anything missed can calmly be made up until 23 months: missing a date does not mean the course has to be started again.
One more recent change: the vaccination against meningococcus group C at one year is no longer given. In its place the schedule now has a four-component vaccine against groups A, C, W and Y — but for adolescents, at 12 to 14 years. So if you are checking against an old table, that item in it no longer corresponds to reality.
This material is for information only and does not replace a consultation with a doctor. The STIKO schedule for 2026 is given here; the recommendations are updated annually, and an individual vaccination plan — including postponements, contraindications and catch-up vaccination — is determined by a doctor after examining the child.