STIKO is a group of independent experts attached to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). They have to be clear and transparent with regard to any conflict of interests. STIKO has had a working group on coronavirus vaccinations since mid-May 2020.

STIKO's recommendations about vaccination are based on weighing up the benefit of the vaccination and the potential risks or uncertainties that may arise because information is lacking or incomplete. STIKO’s experts also use mathematical models to assess the potential consequences of their recommendations.

It is often necessary to change the recommendations or issue new ones because the epidemiological situation and the current state of research keep on changing. When making recommendations about vaccination, new knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 illness needs to be taken into account, as do the authorization and availability of vaccines and the usefulness of vaccination to the vaccinated individual and to the population as a whole.

Further information about STIKO and COVID-19 vaccination recommendations are available from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) under the headings “Kommissionen” and “Wie werden die Impfempfehlungen erarbeitet?”

Vaccine breakthrough is said to have occurred when a fully vaccinated person becomes infected with SARS-CoV-2 as confirmed by a PCR test and this person also experiences symptoms.

But it’s important to remember that vaccine breakthrough does not mean the vaccine has failed. Even when vaccine breakthrough does occur, the vaccination still prevents severe illness with COVID-19 in the vast majority of cases.

Further information about vaccine breakthrough is available from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

It is not possible to say how much the effectiveness of the vaccination will be reduced if new mutations and SARS-CoV-2 variants occur. This will depend on several factors: on the vaccine used, on the number of doses that have already been administered, on the combination of vaccines used so far and above all on the type of mutation.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the COVID-19 vaccination was 75% effective against symptomatic infection and 90% effective against severe illness in fully (doubly) vaccinated people before the omicron variant appeared.

It is nevertheless important to remember that the effectiveness of the vaccination decreases with time. This applies particularly in relation to the omicron variant of the virus which has spread worldwide since November 2021. RKI reports that the effectiveness of vaccination is lower against the omicron variant than against delta and decreases more quickly. This means that from about 15 weeks after the second vaccination there is no adequate protection against illness. However, the study data do show that a booster vaccination can provide good protection against the omicron variant.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides current information about the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccinations.

The coronavirus vaccination is usually particularly recommended for people with pre-existing conditions because they are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.

However, there are also exceptions such as people with acute severe illness. In their case, it may be sensible to delay vaccination until the acute symptoms have died down. Also, some pre-existing conditions and particular medications mean that certain vaccines cannot be used, but such cases are rare.

Consult your doctor if you think a coronavirus vaccination might be a problem for you for medical reasons.

Patient organizations are also good to contact if you have questions. Patient organizations are usually well informed about the current state of research and can inform you on this basis.

Information about SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations for people with rheumatic diseases is available from the patient organizations Deutsche Rheuma Liga and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Rheumatologie.

A statement on COVID-19 booster vaccinations for cancer patients issued by the cancer organization Deutsche Krebshilfe can be found here.

Recommendations from the German MS society (DMSG) on COVID-19 vaccinations for people with MS can be found here.

Yes. STIKO (Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccinations) recommends a coronavirus vaccination in the second trimester of pregnancy. Women who received the first vaccination before they became pregnant should have their second vaccination in the second trimester of pregnancy.

STIKO particularly recommends the coronavirus vaccination for women of child-bearing age who are hoping to conceive and for women who are breast-feeding.

Further information on vaccinations for women who are pregnant, breast-feeding or hoping to conceive is available from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Yes. STIKO (Germany’s Standing Committee on Vaccinations) recommends the coronavirus vaccination for children and young people aged 12 years and over.

STIKO also recommends the coronavirus vaccination for children aged 5 years and over when they have certain pre-existing conditions or when they have close contact with people at high risk of becoming severely ill with COVID-19.

To date, STIKO has not issued a general recommendation to vaccinate children under 12 years of age. However, STIKO states that children aged between 5 and 11 years without pre-existing conditions can also be vaccinated if that is the wish of both the parents and the child after a doctor has explained the situation to them.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides further information about the vaccination of children including a list of relevant pre-existing conditions (the list is to be found below the question “Welchen Kindern und Jugendlichen wird die COVID-19-Schutzimpfung besonders empfohlen?”)

Vaccinations have been used successfully in medicine for a long time. When unwanted side effects occur, experience has shown that they usually become apparent a few days or weeks after vaccination. Up to now, no vaccination has been found to have side effects that only appear months or years later on. Such long-term consequences are not to be expected after a COVID-19 vaccination either.

Further information about the side effects of coronavirus vaccinations is available on the Federal Health Ministry’s websites Zusammen gegen Corona and gesund.bund.de, on the BzGA (Federal Centre for Health Education) website infektionsschutz.de and from the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, the risk of serious side effects after a coronavirus vaccination is about 0.02%. On average, one in 5000 people experiences a serious adverse reaction.

The Paul Ehrlich Institute is responsible for monitoring the safety of vaccines in Germany. The institute collects and evaluates the notifications of suspected side effects in Germany and publishes safety reports on all the cases in which potential side effects or complications occurred soon after vaccination against COVID-19.

Further information and current safety reports on COVID-19 vaccinations are available from the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

You should expect that your body will react after the coronavirus vaccination and you may notice this reaction. Various different symptoms can occur such as tiredness, headache, aching limbs, fever, cold-like symptoms and pain similar to muscle stiffness in the vaccinated arm.

It is important to remember that these are not unwanted side effects. Rather, they are signs that the vaccine has triggered an immune reaction in your body – just as it should - and are nothing to worry about. A strong immune reaction can be unpleasant but it usually only lasts for a few days.

It is not possible to predict how any one individual will react. Some people experience stronger reactions while others don’t react at all.

In rare cases, there can also be side effects and complications after vaccination. These can include symptoms such as headache, respiratory distress, swelling and paralysis of arms or legs, chest pain, skin bleeding and paralysis of the chest or face. Symptoms such as respiratory distress, pronounced heartbeat and chest pain can be signs of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) or pericarditis (inflammation of the pericardial sac surrounding the heart). These primarily affect younger males – young men, adolescents and boys. Anyone who experiences these or other side effects 4 to 16 days after being vaccinated should consult a doctor.

Further information about the side effects of coronavirus vaccinations is available on the Federal Health Ministry’s website gesund.bund.de, on the BzGA (Federal Centre for Health Education) website infektionsschutz.de and from the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

The Share to Care initiative provides evidence-based information about infection risks and the characteristics of the illness in vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

The likelihood that you will transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus and infect other people is lower if you have been fully vaccinated than if you have not been vaccinated. When vaccinated people become infected with SARS-CoV-2, they shed viruses for a shorter period of time than unvaccinated people.

Transmission of the virus after vaccination is therefore less likely but not completely impossible. It is not possible to quantify to what extent vaccination can reduce transmission of the virus. For this reason, vaccinated people also need to follow the current hygiene rules and recommendations in order to avoid infecting others.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides further information about the effectiveness of Coronavirus vaccinations.