2nd STIKO update of the COVID-19 Vaccination recommendation and the associated scientific Reason

STIKO recommends vaccination against COVID-19.

For the vaccination: one of the two approved mRNA vaccines (Comirnaty from BioNTech / Pfizer, COVID-19 Vaccine from Moderna) or the approved vector-based vaccine (COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca). Once started, the vaccination series must be completed with the same product. The two mRNA vaccines are judged to be equivalent in terms of safety and effectiveness. Based on the currently available data for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination is recommended only for people aged 18 to 64 years - there is not yet sufficient data to assess the effectiveness for people aged 65+. Apart from this limitation, this vaccine is also considered suitable for individual protection and for combating the pandemic. There are no direct comparative studies between the various vaccines.