The coronavirus vaccine

Vaccination rates in Europe

Find out how many people have been vaccinated against coronavirus in European countries.

Status:

Data source: interaktiv.morgenpost.de.

When can I get the coronavirus vaccine?

Germany has been administering the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine since its approval on December 27, 2020. Since then, several other vaccines have been and are being approved. After initially prioritizing vaccination by risk groups, Germany has now offered every adult the opportunity to get vaccinated.

STIKO now recommends that all adults get a booster shot 3 months after the second vaccination. Risk groups should continue to be given priority. Children are also increasingly being included in the STIKO's vaccination recommendations. 

Furthermore, the EU Commission declared at the end of December 2021 that vaccination certificates will only be valid in the EU for nine months if not followed by a booster shot. This regulation will come into force on February 1, 2022 if not vetoed by any of the EU member states.

It remains important to follow all recommendations from local authorities on hygiene measures and social distancing.

Important vaccine news and studies

It is true that the Coronavirus vaccines have now been in use for many months. Nevertheless, new scientific studies emerge on a regular basis which are groundbreaking for the assessment and evaluation of the various vaccines. This is because new virus variants in particular can continuously change the facts. 

Here you will find an overview of the most important study results:

Study: Vaccine and course of disease

Because no COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective, isolated infections may occur in fully vaccinated individuals. However, these so-called "breakthrough infections" are usually accompanied by milder symptoms or no symptoms at all.

Study 1 and 2

Study: How contagious are vaccinated Persons?

Vaccinated people have a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 than unvaccinated people. However, when vaccinated people become infected, they are similarly contagious as unvaccinated people are to other people. The viral load in the throat is then also comparable.

Study 1,  and 2

Study: Does the vaccine protect against the Delta variant?

In preventing symptomatic infections, the efficacy of the Coronavirus vaccine is lower for the delta variant than for previous virus types. However, studies show that the vaccine's efficacy against severe courses of disease, hospitalizations, and deaths remains very high.

Study 1 and 2

Study: Vaccine risks and side effects

Harmless, short-lasting vaccination reactions such as shoulder pain or fever are common with all of the various Coronavirus vaccines. In contrast, the risk of serious side effects such as myocarditis or thrombosis is rare and is continuously monitored by the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

Study 1 and PEI-Bericht

Study: Effectiveness of BioNTech

With regard to "symptomatic cases", the efficacy of a completed vaccination series with BioNTech is 88.0 % in the case of the delta variant. With regard to "hospitalizations", the figure is as high as 96 %.

Study 1 and 2

Study: Effectiveness of Moderna

The efficacy of a completed vaccination series with Moderna is 73.1 % in relation to the risk of infection with the delta variant. With regard to severe or even fatal courses, the efficacy is 96.1 %. 

Study 1

The following figure shows the current status of coronavirus vaccine development:

Current status of coronavirus vaccines

The process of vaccine approval varies between countries. There are already several vaccines that have been approved in certain countries but not in others. Also, a large number of additional vaccines are still under development and testing. Thus, the number of approved vaccines may continue to increase in the future. You can find a detailed overview of the different vaccines and their current status in the table below.

Different approaches are used in vaccine development: Some rely on tried and trusted concepts while others involve testing completely new methods. No matter which approach is taken, all vaccines have to go through the same approval steps and their safety and efficacy must be proven in clinical trials. In the end, the main differences between different vaccine types are the different methods that they use to stimulate the human immune system.

Traditional vaccines work by delivering viral components (antigens) to antibodies and immune cells in the body. Newer vaccines, on the other hand, train the immune system by delivering the instructions or “blueprint” for producing the viral antigens instead. It is conceivable that several different vaccines and vaccine types will be available at the same time.

In the meantime, Nuvaxovid, another coronavirus vaccine that has proven to be effective against severe courses of disease has been recommended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This is only the fifth coronavirus vaccine approved in the EU, but it is fundamentally different from the previous ones. Generally speaking, all of the currently used coronavirus vaccines used in Europe are inactivated vaccines, meaning they do not contain any replicating coronavirus. However, Nuvaxovid, the vaccine from the U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer Novovax is a protein vaccine that contains components of the so-called spike protein. This means that Nuvaxovid could be an alternative, especially for people who are still uncertain and have reservations about the new mRNA vaccines.

The following figure shows the number and type of vaccines that are currently in each phase of development and testing (State 25.10.2021, Source):

Who should get vaccinated?

Coronavirus vaccines are the safest way to effectively protect yourself and others from a severe course of the disease. All vaccines approved in Germany have previously undergone rigorous testing for safety and efficacy. The Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) therefore recommends that all adults get vaccinated, unless they have preexisting health reasons for not getting vaccinated. Such medical exemptions must be discussed with a physician on an individual basis. Corona vaccines are now approved for all 5- to 17-year-olds, according to the EMA. Further information and updates on the RKI's vaccine recommendations can be found here.

What are the potential side effects?

The top priority in the whole approval process is making sure these vaccines are safe. Investigating side effects is one of the most important research questions in clinical trials. Different vaccination types might have different side effects. You can find more detailed information here.

Some rare side effects may only become apparent after the vaccine has been approved. For this reason, vaccines are monitored even after approval. As with all medicines, anyone – not just doctors – can report side effects directly to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute.