Klaus Überla appointed new chair of STIKO
Newly appointed committee elects virologist from FAU
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) elected Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla as its new chair during its inaugural meeting. The director of the Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology at Uniklinikum Erlangen and Chair of Clinical and Molecular Virology at FAU has been a member of the committee since 2017. For fourteen of the nineteen members, the meeting marked the beginning of their first term of office in the STIKO, including Prof. Dr. Andrea Kaifie-Pechmann, who holds the Chair of Occupational and Social Medicine and is in charge of the Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine at FAU.
Prof. Überla’s research focuses on the development and characterization of new vaccinations against HIV/AIDS and viral respiratory diseases. Prof. Kaifie-Pechmann is an expert in occupational medicine and concentrates on risks at the workplace. These include chemical but also biological risks entailed, for example, by tasks with increased risk of infection, for example in the hospital.
About the STIKO
The STIKO’s members are independent volunteers who are experts in various disciplines. Experts from the fields of mathematical modeling, communication sciences and geriatrics have been included in the committee for the first time in the current term of office. The aim of the STIKO is to develop vaccination recommendations for the population in Germany and to adjust these in view of newly developed vaccinations and research findings. The committee follows the criteria for evidence-based medicine, paying consideration to the individual benefits of a vaccination as well as questions concerning the implementation and acceptance of the vaccine, as well as the benefits for society as a whole.
Further information:
Prof. Dr. med. Klaus Überla
Chair of Clinical and Molecular Virology