Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

VACCINATION

German pharmacies begin offering digital vaccination certificates

Starting on Monday, anyone in Germany who is fully vaccinated against coronavirus will be able to pick up a digital certificate from a pharmacy.

Published: 14 June 2021 10:31 CEST
German pharmacies begin offering digital vaccination certificates
A sample of the digital certificate which pharmacies, vaccination centres and GP practices will offer. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Settnik

The Associations of German Pharmacies (Apothekerverbände) said that, due to organisational reasons, not every pharmacy will initially be able to provide a certificate in the form of a QR code which can be uploaded into an app. 

They advised people to check the website mein-apothekenmanager.de to see which chemists issue a certificate.

READ ALSO:

The digital certificate is a voluntary addition to the yellow paper vaccination booklet, which is still valid. 

The new digital initiative is part of an EU-wide project aimed at making it easier for residents in the bloc countries to prove vaccinations, negative Covid-19 tests and recovery from an infection. 

The new certificate can be used as proof when virus restrictions are relaxed and will facilitate travel in Europe during the summer holiday season. 

How will the certificate be used?

The proof will be stored in a QR code comprised of black and white squares, which in the future will be handed out following the second vaccination at the vaccination centre or at the doctor’s office where people get their jab. The code can then be scanned and presented using certain cell phone apps.

In addition to the CovPass app and the German government’s Corona-Warning-App, proof will also be possible via the Luca app from Wednesday, it emerged. 

READ ALSO: Reader question: Where can I get Germany’s ‘yellow vaccination booklet’ and do I need it?

After a test phase, vaccination centres, doctors’ offices and pharmacies will now gradually join in, according to the Health Ministry.

The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians said that there will not be an immediate nationwide launch in GP practices for technical reasons.

State by state differences

Around 20 million people have been fully vaccinated against Covid in Germany. Yet how they can receive the digital certificate varies depending on where they live. 

READ ALSO: Major milestone: More than 40 million Germans vaccinated against Covid

In Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt, for example, people who have already received their jabs in vaccination centres are to be given access to the certificate via specially set-up websites.

In Baden-Württemberg, vaccination certificates are to be sent by post retrospectively over the course of the next few weeks, according to the state’s Ministry of Health. 

In Thuringia, on the other hand, the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians clarified on Friday that a subsequent issuance of the digital vaccination certificate for those who have already been vaccinated is not possible in the vaccination centres because the effort would not be manageable. 

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physician also stated that electronic vaccination certificates could not yet be issued in doctors’ offices and vaccination centres for the time being.

Member comments

  1. Will they take our US CDC cards? We were vaccinated on US military bases in Germany and therefore, got the US cards.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

It’s back again: amid sinking temperatures, the incidence of Covid-19 has been slowly rising in Germany. But is this enough to merit worrying about the virus?

Published: 20 September 2023 12:05 CEST
Updated: 20 September 2023 22:22 CEST
Could there be a new wave of Covid-19 in Germany this autumn?

More people donning face masks in supermarkets, friends cancelling plans last minute due to getting sick with Covid-19. We might have seen some of those familiar reminders recently that the coronavirus is still around, but could there really be a resurgence of the virus like we experienced during the pandemic years?

According to virologists, the answer seems to be ‘maybe’: since July, the number of people newly infected with Covid-19 has been slowly rising from a very low level.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), nine people per 100,000 inhabitants became newly infected in Germany last week. A year ago, there were only around 270 reported cases.

Various Corona variants are currently on the loose in the country. According to the RKI,  the EG.5 (also called Eris) and XBB.1.16 lines were each detected in the week ending September 3rd with a share of just under 23 percent. 

The highly mutated variant BA.2.86 (Pirola), which is currently under observation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), also arrived in the country this week, according to RKI. 

High number of unreported case

The RKI epidemiologists also warned about a high number of unreported cases since hardly any testing is done. They pointed out that almost half of all registered sewage treatment plants report an increasing viral load in wastewater tests.

The number of hospital admissions has also increased slightly, but are still a far cry from the occupation rate amid the pandemic. Last week it was two per 100,000 inhabitants. In the intensive care units, only 1.2 percent of all beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Still, a good three-quarters (76.4 percent) of people in Germany have been vaccinated at least twice and thus have basic immunity, reported RKI. 

Since Monday, doctors’ offices have been vaccinating with the adapted vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer, available to anyone over 12 years old, with a vaccine for small children set to be released the following week and one for those between 5 and 11 to come out October 2nd.

But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has so far only recommended that people over 60 and those with pre-existing conditions get vaccinated.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Who should get a Covid jab this autumn in Germany?

“The pandemic is over, the virus remains,” he said. “We cannot predict the course of coming waves of corona, but it is clear that older people and people with pre-existing conditions remain at higher risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19”

The RKI also recommended that people with a cold voluntarily wear a mask. Anyone exhibiting cough, cold, sore throat or other symptoms of a respiratory illness should voluntarily stay at home for three to five days and take regular corona self-tests. 

However, further measures such as contact restrictions are not necessary, he said.

One of many diseases

As of this autumn, Covid-19 could be one of many respiratory diseases. As with influenza, there are no longer absolute infection figures for coronavirus.

Saarbrücken pharmacist Thorsten Lehr told German broadcaster ZDF that self-protection through vaccinations, wearing a mask and getting tested when symptoms appear are prerequisites for surviving the Covid autumn well. 

Only a new, more aggressive mutation could completely turn the game around, he added.

On April 7th of this year, Germany removed the last of its over two-year long coronavirus restrictions, including mask-wearing in some public places.

READ ALSO: German doctors recommend Covid-19 self-tests amid new variant

SHOW COMMENTS