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COVID-19 vaccination in Germany

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COVID-19 vaccination in Germany
Map of COVID19 vaccinations in Germany by federal states (as of December 1, 2021). For more recent data visit the webpage of the RKI.[1]
Date26 December 2020 (2020-12-26) – present
LocationGermany
CauseCOVID-19 pandemic in Germany
TargetFull immunisation of people in Germany against COVID-19
Participants55,869,314 people with one dose
52,503,166 people fully vaccinated (19 September 2021)
WebsiteOfficial Website

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Germany began on 26 December 2020.[2]

As of 16 December 2021, 60,679,186 people have received at least one dose (73% of total population), while 58,174,724 people have been fully vaccinated (70% of total population).[3] And as of 8 April 2023, 63.6 million people (76.4% of the total population) received the Grundimmunisierung (two doses or one dose and undergone infection) while 52.1 million people (62.6%) had received at least one additional booster dose.[4]

In January 2023, the health ministry stated that the expenditure on vaccines to date was 13.1 billion euros.[5]

Vaccines on order

[edit]
German vaccination certificate with evidence of two-dose of COVID-19 vaccination

There are several COVID-19 vaccines at various stages of development around the world. The ones listed as "pending" in the column "approval" in the table below were under review by the European Medicines Agency as of 15 May 2021,[6] with unclear status as of July 2023.

Vaccine Approval Deployment
Pfizer–BioNTech 21 December 2020 26 December 2020
Moderna 6 January 2021 12 January 2021
Oxford–AstraZeneca 29 January 2021 7 February 2021
Janssen 11 March 2021 5 May 2021
Novavax 20 December 2021 21 March 2022[7]
VLA2001 24 June 2022 9 September 2022[8]
VidPrevtyn Beta 10 November 2022 12 December 2022[9]
Bimervax (COVID-19 Vaccine HIPRA) 30 March 2023[10] Pending
CoronaVac Pending No
but recognition on 31 March 2022[11]
Sputnik V Pending (but suspended since March 2022)[12] No
but recognition on 31 March 2022[11]
CureVac  Request withdrawn No

The German Immunization Committee (STIKO) initially recommended jabs from AstraZeneca[13] and Janssen only for patients ages 60 and above after reports of blood clot post-vaccination, but this was made available to everyone by the federal government on 6 May 2021[14] and 10 May 2021,[15] respectively. On November 10 of the same year, STIKO recommended jabs from Moderna's vaccine mRNA-1273 only to persons 30 years of age and older due to the increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis for young people, and the vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer was the only recommended vaccine for young people.[16]

Doses delivered (cumulative)

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As of 19 July 2021

Timeline of vaccination

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COVID-19 vaccination center in Hall 4 of Cologne Trade Fair

Priority groups

[edit]

At the beginning of the vaccination campaign, the vaccine was planned to be distributed in four priority groups.[17]

Vaccination group 1

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The first priority group received their first vaccination on 26 December 2020. Everyone ages 80 and above, residents & caretakers of senior residents and high risk medical personnel are included in this group.[citation needed]

Vaccination group 2

[edit]

This group consists of everyone ages 70 to 79, people with high risk preexisting conditions or Down's Syndrome or psychologically impaired and their caretakers, caretakers of pregnant women, and other medical personnel not included in group 1.

Vaccination group 3

[edit]

Group 3 consists of everyone ages 60 to 69, people with moderate preexisting conditions and their caretakers, employees of the government, shops, and vital infrastructure, and teachers.

Vaccination group 4

[edit]

Everyone under the age of 60, but at least 16 years old, who are not included in the above vaccination group will be the last to get inoculation once most members of the top three priority groups receive their first dose. At a press conference on 26 April 2021, chancellor Angela Merkel promised to remove the prioritization by June,[18] with Health Minister Jens Spahn later announcing its end on June 7, 2021.[19] However, the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Berlin decided to enable this group to also get vaccinated through a doctor's office starting on 17 May 2021.[20][21][22]

On 27 May 2021, chancellor Angela Merkel announced the extension of this priority to include children ages 12 to 15, on the condition that at least one existing vaccine is approved for use in this age range by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).[23]

Slowing of vaccination campaign and government response

[edit]

On 8 August 2021, it was reported that in response to a decreasing demand for vaccinations, in particular the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry would, starting from 16 August, distribute vaccines to the 16 states on the basis of reported demand, instead of the maximum feasible amounts. For the same reason, states projected in a survey by Die Welt that they would return over 2 million vaccine doses to the federal government. Development minister Gerd Müller told the newspaper that the amount of 30 million vaccine doses already promised should be increased in view of the situation, and that as the next step, the capacities for domestic production in poorer countries should be improved.[24]

From 13 to 19 September, mobile vaccination centers were set up on public transport, mosques, and football fields as part of a campaign to increase the vaccination rate in the population.[25]

Initiatives for vaccine mandates

[edit]

Since October 2021, there was increased support for the introduction of mandates for vaccination against Covid-19 and the newly formed Scholz cabinet endorsed the initiatives with some reservations on the part of the coalition partner FDP. The vaccine mandate for employees in clinics and nursing homes (einrichtungsbezogene Impfpflicht) passed the Bundestag on 10 December 2021 and became law.[26]

But none of the legislative proposals for a general vaccine mandate received a majority in the vote in the Bundestag on 7 April 2022,[27] and the German government decided not to pursue initiatives for a general mandate any further.[28]

Finally, the vaccine mandate for employees in clinics and nursing homes (einrichtungsbezogene Impfpflicht) ceased with the end of 2022.[29]

Incidents

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In August 2021, authorities in north Germany found that a nurse injected saline instead of vaccine, and had to ask more than 8,000 people to get repeat Covid vaccinations.[30]

Statistics

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Vaccination figures were obtained from the RKI, updated every business day and correspond to progress on the previous day.[31] Starting from April, inoculations can also be administered at a doctor's office alongside the existing vaccination center and mobile teams [32] and from 7 June at a company's physician office. A first dose is described as a person who received at least one COVID-19 vaccine doses, while a full dose stands for a person who completed the vaccination process with the prescribed doses.

Cumulative vaccinations

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Vaccinations per day

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Vaccination by federal state

[edit]
First and second vaccination by federal state
Federal state Vaccinated population Percentage of population vaccinated
first dose full dose booster dose first dose full dose booster dose
Baden-Württemberg 7,573,673 7,374,131 924,137 68.2% 66.4% 8.3%
Bavaria 9,002,287 8,735,431 1,335,733 68.5% 66.5% 10.2%
Berlin 2,620,248 2,526.217 461,183 71.5% 68.9% 12.6%
Brandenburg 1,626,073 1,567,530 206,972 64.2% 61.9% 8.2%
Bremen 4,456,366 4,241,163 531,825 70.8% 67.4% 8.5%
Hamburg 1,410,015 1,371,397 164,664 76.1% 74.0% 8.9%
Hesse 4,456,366 4,241,163 531,825 70.8% 67.4% 8.5%
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 1,110,893 1,074,521 146,095 69.0% 66.7% 9.1%
Lower Saxony 5,856,585 5,613,878 748,550 73.2% 70.1% 9.4%
North Rhine-Westphalia 13,447,374 12,838,448 1,850,983 75.0% 71.6% 10.3%
Rhineland-Palatinate 2,957,266 2.786,767 374,723 72.2% 68.0% 9.1%
Saarland 760,872 735,825 109,994 77.3% 74.8% 11.2%
Saxony 2,445,570 2,351,886 303,958 60.3% 58.0% 7.5%
Saxony-Anhalt 1,450,062 1,412,577 194,687 66.5% 64.8% 8.9%
Schleswig-Holstein 2,187,755 2,113,758 306,800 75.2% 72.6% 10.5%
Thuringia 1,356,545 1,320,893 230,964 64.0% 62.3% 10.9%
Bundeswehr / German Federal Police 194,512 186,914 10,143 – – –
Germany 59,018,263 56,795,142 7,981,435 71.0 % 68.3 % 9.6 %
Total injected doses 120,376,028
As of 26 November 2021 per data from Robert Koch Institut.

Post-vac reports in Germany

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See also: COVID-19 vaccine § Adverse events

The term post-vac (or post-vac syndrome, post-vaccine syndrome, post-vax of long-vax[33] ) is used in Germany, Switzerland[34] and Austria[35] in connection with long-standing symptoms somewhat similar to long covid symptoms and does not indicate a defined disease or designation. No causal relationship has been found between the corona vaccination against COVID-19 and symptoms attributed to post-vac, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, orthostatic hypotension and Long covid-like symptoms, however post-vac has been little studied.[36] It was suggested that the term post-vac syndrome should not be used as it is imprecise; instead, the term post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome, PCVS, colloquially post-COVIDvac-syndrome, should be used and a distinction made between acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (ACVS) and post-acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PACVS) – in analogy to acute COVID-19 and post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS, long COVID).[37]

In Germany, the University Hospital of Giessen and Marburg (Universitätsklinikum Giessen und Marburg - UKGM) has established a treatment and research center for post-vac syndrome.[38][39][40]

Assessment by the Paul Ehrlich Institute

[edit]

The German Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) publishes a safety reports on reports of suspected corona vaccine adverse reactions and complications related to the approved COVID-19 vaccines, and the PEI reviews these reports. In the 7 September 2022 safety notice, which covers a time period from 27 December 2020 to 30 June 2022, the PEI refers for the first time to the concept of post-vac syndrome and examines reports of long-standing complaints after vaccination.[41] It was found that chronic fatigue, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and pulmonary Covid-like complaints after vaccination were no more common than would be expected based on normal incidence.

The follow-up statement from May 2023 on "post-vac" (data till mid-May 2023)[42] and the comprehensive safety report (data till end of March 2023) from June 2023 from the Paul Ehrlich Institut (PEI) confirmed that more than half of the reported cases worldwide (1452 out of 2657 as of 31 March 2023) of "Post-Vac" have been reported from Germany.[43][44][45]

Reaction by the German health authorities

[edit]

The German Federal Minister for Health, Karl Lauterbach, mentioned in a ZDF TV-interview on 12 March 2023 the occurrence of corona-vaccination damages and the post-vac syndrome. Lauterbach indicated that there was yet no drug available, nor a treatment method. He promised financial help for the victims.[46]

Since the end of March 2023 the Bavarian ministry of health established a telephone hotline for people suspecting a "Post-Vac-Syndrom".[47]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Digitales Impfquotenmonitoring zur COVID-19-Impfung" [Digital vaccination rate monitoring for COVID-19 vaccination]. www.rki.de (in German). Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Erste Corona-Impfungen in Halberstadt: Pieks für 101-Jährige" (in German). dpa. 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Aktueller Impfstatus". impfdashboard.de (in German). Federal Ministry of Health (Germany). Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ "COVID-19-Impfung in Deutschland bis zum 8. April 2023: Übersicht zum Impfstatus". Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Bund bestellte Coronaimpfstoffe für mehr als 13 Milliarden Euro". Deutsches Ärzteblatt (in German). 26 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  6. ^ "COVID-19 vaccines: under evaluation". European Medicines Agency. n.d. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  7. ^ Praxen erhalten ab 21. März Impfstoff von Novavax - Bestellsituation weiterhin entspannt Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (www.kbv.de, 10 March 2022)
  8. ^ "Neue Impfstoffvarianten im Landkreis verfügbar". 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  9. ^ Proteinbasierter Booster-Impfstoff von Sanofi jetzt bestellbar Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (www.kbv.de, 30 November 2022)
  10. ^ "COVID-19-Impfstoff Bimervax für Auffrischimpfungen zugelassen". Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b recognized as proven efficient ("Inzwischen liegen jedoch Daten vor, die zeigen...", CoronaVac) resp. expected to be efficient ("In Analogie ... ist jedoch davon auszugehen...", Sputnik V) by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), see page 3 (Beschluss der STIKO zur 19. Aktualisierung der COVID-19-Impfempfehlung) of Epidemiologisches Bulletin 13/2022 Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (www.rki.de, 31 March 2022)
  12. ^ Prüfung von russischem Coronaimpfstoff in der EU ausgesetzt Archived 9 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine (www.spiegel.de, 18 March 2022)
  13. ^ "Germany restricts use of AstraZeneca vaccine to over 60s in most cases". Deutsche Welle. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Coronavirus: Germany opens up AstraZeneca COVID vaccines for all adults". Deutsche Welle. 6 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Johnson & Johnson prioritization lifted" (in German). tagesschau. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ^ Alkousaa, Riham (10 November 2021). "Germany recommends only Biontech/Pfizer vaccine for under-30s". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Vaccination priority" (PDF). German Ministry of Health. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Merkel: Germany to let everyone apply for vaccine by June". Deutsche Welle. 26 April 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Germany to open up vaccines to all adults from June 7th: What you need to know". thelocal.de. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Coronavirus in Bavaria: Assistance in English". Bayerischer Rundfunk. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Corona-Impfungen in Arztpraxen künftig freigegeben - große Nachfrage". Südwestrundfunk. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Ab Montag Berlin hebt Impfpriorisierung bei Ärzten auf" (in German). Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  23. ^ Thurau, Jens (27 May 2021). "COVID: Germany's Merkel wants vaccines for children aged 12 to 15". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  24. ^ Doll, Nikolaus (8 August 2021). "Bundesländer geben mehr als zwei Millionen Impfdosen zurück". Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  25. ^ "German Chancellor Angela Merkel kicks off COVID vaccination action week". Deutsche Welle. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Impfpflicht für Beschäftigte in Kliniken und Heimen beschlossen" [Compulsory vaccination for employees in clinics and homes passed]. www.bundesregierung.de (in German). 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Initiativen zur Corona-Impfpflicht fallen im Bundestag durch" [Initiatives for compulsory Corona vaccination fail to pass in the Bundestag]. www.bundestag.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  28. ^ "German government drops plan for Covid vaccine mandate". www.theguardian.com. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Corona-Impfpflicht im Gesundheitswesen läuft Ende des Jahres aus" [Corona vaccination requirement in health care expires at the end of the year] (in German). www.rbb24.de. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Covid: Germany fears thousands got saline, not vaccine from nurse". BBC News. 12 August 2021. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  31. ^ "RKI - Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - Digitales Impfquotenmonitoring zur COVID-19-Impfung". Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Germany: Merkel, state leaders agree on strategy to jump-start vaccinations". Deutsche Welle. 19 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  33. ^ Kamoi, K.; Ohno-Matsui, K. (2024). "PMC article on long-vax". Diseases. 12 (2): 36. doi:10.3390/diseases12020036. PMC 10888280. PMID 38391783.
  34. ^ "Post-Vac-Syndrom - Schwer krank nach Covid-Impfung: Seltenheit oder Leid mit System?". www.srf.ch. 10 February 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Covid-Impfschäden und "Post Vac": Wie sieht eine erste Bilanz aus?". www.sn.at. 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Wie verbreitet ist das Post-Vac-Syndrom?" [How common is Post-Vac Syndrome?]. 3 July 2023. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  37. ^ Scholkmann, Felix; May, Christian-Albrecht (June 2023). "COVID-19, post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS, "long COVID") and post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PCVS, "post-COVIDvac-syndrome"): Similarities and differences". Pathology - Research and Practice. 246: 154497. doi:10.1016/j.prp.2023.154497. PMC 10154064. PMID 37192595.
  38. ^ "Spezialsprechstunde Post-Vax" [Post-Vac Special Consultation]. www.ukgm.de. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  39. ^ "Post-vac syndrome — the forgotten COVID victims". www.dw.com/en. 21 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  40. ^ "Treating the Post-Vac-Syndrome". www.dw.com. 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  41. ^ The Paul-Ehrlich Institute's Safety Notice from 14 September 2022. "Bericht über Verdachtsfälle von Nebenwirkungen und Impfkomplikationen nach Impfung zum Schutz vor COVID-19 (Berichtszeitraum 27.12.2020 bis 30.06.2022)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  42. ^ "Statement from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut on "Post-Vac Syndrome" after COVID-19 Vaccination (dated 19 May 2023)" (PDF). www.pei.de. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023. When comparing the absolute numbers of reports of suspected cases presented, it seems notable that at the time of the evaluation, more than 50% of all suspected cases registered worldwide (n=2,817) with these symptoms were reported from Germany (n= 1,547).
  43. ^ "Experts rätseln: Long-Covid-Symptome nach Impfung? Hälfte aller Verdachtsfälle aus Deutschland gemeldet]" [Experts puzzled: Long Covid symptoms after vaccination? Half of all suspected cases reported from Germany]. www.focus.de. 7 July 2023. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  44. ^ ""Post-Vac-Syndrom": Mehr als die Hälfte der weltweiten Fälle in Deutschland registriert". www.aerzteblatt.de (in German). 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  45. ^ "Sicherheitsprofil der COVID-19-Impfstoffe – Sachstand 31.03.2023" [Safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines - state of affairs 03/31/2023] (PDF). www.pei.de (in German). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  46. ^ "Post-Vac und Long Covid : Lauterbach verspricht Hilfe nach Impfschäden". www.zdf.de. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  47. ^ "PRESSEMITTEILUNG Nr.96/GP". www.stmgp.bayern.de. 31 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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