Vaccine administration in Germany 2003-2019

Vaccine administration in Germany fluctuated noticeably during the period displayed in this statistic. Peaking in 2007 at 47.6 million DDD (defined daily dose), figures dropped annually afterwards, increasing again from 2015 onwards. Germany offers various vaccinations for its citizens, and while not all of these are mandatory, many are strongly recommended. Inoculations usually start during babyhood at regular intervals explained by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), which is a part of the Robert Koch Institute.

German vaccine market

The WHO notes that vaccines are defined as pharmaceutical products in the legal sense, but they are also subject to additional regulation and control. These procedures are established both at the international and national level. Germany is among the leading five pharmaceutical markets in the world, following the U.S., China, and Japan. In 2019, vaccines generated over 713 million euros worth of revenue on the German pharmaceutical market. New ones get approved regularly, as is the case with the recent development of vaccines against the coronavirus (COVID-19). Currently, Germany is vaccinating its population with the following vaccines approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency): BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson.

Public opinion

Opinions differ among the German population as to how effective vaccines are in preventing infectious diseases. Over half of respondents to a survey on the topic absolutely agreed, while a small percentage did not. Overall, in terms of vaccine knowledge in Europe, the majority of residents were sure that vaccines are subject to rigorous testing before being used. However, 55 percent also thought that vaccines weakened and overloaded the immune system instead of protecting it. Support for compulsory vaccinations was generally high in European countries.