Protective vaccination guideline
The vaccination guideline specifies exactly for which people or situations the vaccination recommendations apply. These are based on the guidelines of the Permanent Vaccination Commission (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
The experts recommend some vaccinations as standard vaccinations for everyone (e.g. those against measles and tetanus). For other vaccinations, they advise only certain risk groups or for special situations (indication vaccination).
Which vaccinations does the health insurance pay for?
The statutory health insurance funds cover the costs of a number of vaccinations. These include, for example, basic immunizations for infants and young children:
- Diphtheria
- Haemophilus influenzae B (causative agent of epiglottitis, among other things)
- hepatitis B
- Measles
- Meningococcus serogroup C (causative agent of meningitis)
- Mumps
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Pneumococcus (pathogen of pneumonia, middle ear infection or meningitis, among others)
- Poliomyelitis (short: polio = polio)
- Rubella
- Tetanus
- Varicella (chickenpox)
In addition, the statutory health insurance covers the vaccination costs for:
- Herpes zoster: standard vaccination against shingles for all people over 60 years of age
- HPV (human papillomavirus): Standard vaccination at the age of nine to 14 years
- Influenza: Vaccination against influenza as standard annual vaccination for all over 60 years of age
- Measles, mumps, rubella: Standard vaccination also for all over 18s born after 1970
The statutory health insurance funds also pay for necessary booster vaccinations:
- Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis: At U9 (5-6 years) as well as once between 9 and 16 years, then every ten years (pertussis here only once additionally)
- Polio: One booster vaccination between 9 and 16 yrs.
Protective vaccinations that an employee needs because of his or her profession are usually paid for by the employer. An example is the vaccination against hepatitis A for people working in the healthcare sector. The company also pays for the vaccinations that the employee receives due to a foreign assignment. In the case of people at particular risk to health, such as the chronically ill, the health insurance companies cover the costs.
Special regulations
Travel vaccinations
Anyone traveling abroad (e.g., on vacation) for non-work reasons usually has to pay out of pocket for recommended vaccinations such as against cholera, hepatitis A and B, or typhoid fever. The public health insurance companies are not obliged to cover the costs. However, it still doesn’t hurt to ask – some insurance companies have voluntarily included individual travel vaccinations in their range of services and usually cover the full costs!
