Overview
- STIKO, which published its updated guidance on Wednesday, raised the routine annual COVID-19 booster age from 60 to 75 to reflect shifting population immunity.
- The commission says more than 95 percent of adults in Germany now have protection against severe COVID-19 from vaccines, infections, or both, and it no longer endorses a general three-dose rule.
- Annual boosters remain recommended regardless of age for care-home residents, people with specified chronic conditions, certain health and care workers, and close contacts of severely immunocompromised people.
- STIKO withdrew routine annual booster recommendations for healthy adults under 75, for healthy pregnant people, and for healthy children and adolescents, while advising vaccination for higher-risk pregnant people from the second trimester.
- The Robert Koch Institute advises giving boosters in late summer or early autumn to maximize protection before seasonal waves, which will focus public campaigns and clinic resources on older and clinically vulnerable groups.