Overview
- New figures from Techniker Krankenkasse show only 38% of insured people aged 60 and over received a flu shot in winter 2024/2025, roughly half of the EU’s 75% goal.
- Uptake has fallen each season from a 49% peak in 2021/2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels.
- Regional disparities persist, with about 52% coverage in Saxony-Anhalt versus roughly 24% in Baden-Württemberg, with Bavaria also among the lowest.
- Pharmacy vaccinations remain rare despite legalization in 2022, with about 10% of pharmacies offering the service, fewer than 29,000 TK shots delivered there, and only 0.43% of TK over-60s vaccinated in pharmacies.
- Medical associations, the KBV, and health ministers urged vaccination this week for older and chronically ill people, while KBV leaders argued pharmacists lack the medical training for an expanded role.