Childhood vaccination rates in Germany remain high overall, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). However, significant gaps persist across all age groups, the RKI reported on Thursday in Berlin. Many children receive their basic immunizations later than recommended or do not complete them at all, a trend seen, for example, in measles protection. In some cases, vaccinations are only caught up shortly before school enrollment.
By their second birthday, more than one in five children was still missing the second measles dose. At age six, 92% were fully vaccinated against measles. In 2024, 96% of children had begun basic immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio by 15 months of age. The rate for the second dose was also high at 93%.
However, many children do not complete the full basic immunization as required. By 24 months, only three-quarters were fully vaccinated. Booster shots are also frequently missed during adolescence. Vaccination rates against cancer-causing human papillomaviruses (HPV) stagnated among 15-year-old girls in 2024 at 55%. Among boys of the same age, the rate rose only slightly and now stands at 36%.
Vaccination coverage among adults, people with pre-existing medical conditions, and pregnant women is also often well below 50%. Among those over 60, the Covid-19 vaccination rate fell by more than one-third compared with the previous season, while flu vaccination reached its lowest level in 17 years.
The RKI described the rollout of RSV prophylaxis in infancy as a “success story.” Around half of all babies born in summer 2024, as well as an undetermined share of those born in autumn and winter, received protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). As a result, hospitalizations for severe RSV-related respiratory infections in infants were cut in half during the 2024/2025 winter season.
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