Vaccination week starts today, and the gap worth closing is on the ward

From today until Sunday, the Federal Health Ministry is running its nationwide vaccination action week, 9 to 15 November¹. The aim is modest and right: explain what the jabs do, and close the gaps people have forgotten about¹. No new rule, no new mandate. Just a reminder, timed to the start of the respiratory season.

What is recommended, plainly. The standing vaccination committee, STIKO, recommends an annual flu jab for everyone aged 60 and over, the chronically ill, pregnant women and medical staff¹. A Covid-19 booster is advised mainly for people at higher risk of severe illness, and for those whose work brings them into contact with them, such as in care¹. Against pneumococci, STIKO recommends a single dose of the 20-valent conjugate vaccine from 60, and for chronically ill people of any age¹. A single RSV jab is standard from 75, and from 60 for care-home residents or people with serious underlying conditions¹.

Why it matters. According to Dresden University Hospital, Germany registered more than 240,000 laboratory-confirmed flu cases in the 2025/26 season. Around 65,000 patients needed hospital treatment and more than 2,000 died, most of them over 60².

The gap on the ward. Here is the uncomfortable figure. In the Robert Koch Institute’s OKaPII survey, 56% of hospital employees questioned had a flu jab in the 2024/25 season². Doctors were, as in earlier years, “still clearly” more likely to be vaccinated than nursing staff². The RKI found that trust in the vaccine’s safety and the wish to protect others drove the decision, and that gaps in knowledge and uncertainty remain². Many clinics now bring the jab to staff, on wards, in outpatient clinics and in admin offices².

For you. If you are over 60, care for someone, or work in a clinic, take your vaccination record to the GP’s surgery this week. It is a ten-minute job. Health systems are rarely saved by breakthroughs in November. They are saved by appointments kept.