STIKO Recommends Regular Booster COVID-19 Vaccinations for Older Adults and At-Risk Groups

Vaccination against Covid-19 should be included in the regular vaccination plan. This is what the draft recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO), published on April 25, 2023, says. STIKO has updated its recommendations for Covid-19 vaccination twenty-five times during the pandemic. The current one should now exist. Experts and committees still have to discuss this, but STIKO does not expect any major changes.

What vaccination recommendations will there be in the future?

In its draft, the STIKO distinguishes between three groups of people, for each of which adapted recommendations apply:

Healthy people from 18 years up to and including 59 years:

According to the STIKO, the vast majority of people should receive basic immunization in the future, but no longer receive regular booster vaccinations.

At least two vaccinations are planned. Whether a booster is recommended should depend on whether there has already been an infection with the corona virus or not. If not, the STIKO recommends a third injection at least three but preferably six months after the primary immunization.

Risk groups and people over 60 years of age:

STIKO recommends regular booster vaccinations for people with an increased risk of a severe course of the disease after a Covid-19 infection.

This affects all people over the age of 60, but also all people over the age of six months if they have previous illnesses that promote a serious course of the disease.

The regular recommendation also applies to people who work in the health system or in nursing and retirement homes, as well as for residents of such facilities.

The boosters will probably be given annually, similar to the flu shot. Since both vaccinations are particularly useful in autumn, they could also be administered in parallel. A vaccine is to be used that protects against both the wild type of the virus and the omicron variant.

No longer recommended for minors:

However, minors are hardly at risk of becoming seriously ill with Covid-19. The STIKO therefore sees no basis for a recommendation. The immunologist Carsten Watzl, who is not a member of the STIKO, also emphasizes that vaccinations of minors are still legally possible. Vaccination is no more risky for children than for adults.

Sources: Deutschlandfunk, Arndt Reuning, pto