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COVID-19 VACCINES

Germany recommends mRNA Covid vaccine after AstraZeneca

Germany's Standing Vaccine Commission (STIKO) has issued updated Covid vaccination advice in light of the spread of Delta, stating that the second dose after AstraZeneca should be an mRNA vaccine, regardless of the patient's age.

Published: 1 July 2021 17:36 CEST
Germany recommends mRNA Covid vaccine after AstraZeneca
A sign marks the entrance to a Covid vaccination centre. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Sebastian Kahnert

With the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant in Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) is adapting its vaccination recommendations.

Under the latest advice, people who have received a first dose of AstraZeneca should in future receive an mRNA vaccine such as BioNTech or Moderna as their second injection, regardless of their age, the committee announced on Thursday.

The interval between the first and second dose should then be at least four weeks. The recommendation will apply “subject to the feedback from the comment procedure,” it said.

The advice is justified by recent studies that have shown that the immune response after two doses of different types of vaccine – first vector, then mRNA vaccine – is “clearly superior” to the immune response after two doses of AstraZeneca.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had received a Moderna second jab after getting an AstraZeneca injection for her first.

READ ALSO: Covid vaccine mix-and-match: Why is it so common in Germany – and is it safe?

STIKO had previously only recommended this to younger people who had already received an initial vaccination with AstraZeneca.

In their latest recommendation, the commission emphasised that in view of the significantly more contagious Delta variant, it was important to “take the second vaccine dose on time”.

After just one vaccine dose, the protection against Delta seems to be “significantly reduced”.

READ ALSO: Should Germany shorten Covid vaccine intervals to combat Delta?

For fully vaccinated people, the protection offered against severe courses of the disease is similar for Delta as it is for other variants, the experts said, citing recent data from the United Kingdom.

STIKO now recommends the following intervals between the two required vaccine doses: three to six weeks for Biontech/Pfizer, four to six weeks for Moderna, nine to 12 weeks for AstraZeneca (if the patient receives two doses of the same vaccine) and “from four weeks” for the combination of AstraZeneca and mRNA vaccine.

The German government usually follows STIKO’s recommendations.

Germany expects the Delta variant to take over as the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the country in the coming days.

Member comments

  1. Now if only it were possible to book your second dose with another vaccine online, if you got AstraZeneca for the initial dose…

    1. As of Today (Monday 5th July) our local Impfzentrum is Taking appointments for mRNA shots as your 2nd dose if you had AstraZeneca as your first, regardless of where you got the first shot. Hopefully your local Impfzenrum will do the same

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COVID-19 VACCINES

Italy’s constitutional court upholds Covid vaccine mandate as fines kick in

Judges on Thursday dismissed legal challenges to Italy's vaccine mandate as "inadmissible” and “unfounded”, as 1.9 million people face fines for refusing the jab.

Published: 2 December 2022 12:11 CET
Italy's constitutional court upholds Covid vaccine mandate as fines kick in

Judges were asked this week to determine whether or not vaccine mandates introduced by the previous government during the pandemic – which applied to healthcare and school staff as well as over-50s – breached the fundamental rights set out by Italy’s constitution.

Italy became the first country in Europe to make it obligatory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated, ruling in 2021 that they must have the jab or be transferred to other roles or suspended without pay.

The Constitutional Court upheld the law in a ruling published on Thursday, saying it considered the government’s requirement for healthcare personnel to be vaccinated during the pandemic period neither unreasonable nor disproportionate.

Judges ruled other questions around the issue as inadmissible “for procedural reasons”, according to a court statement published on Thursday.

This was the first time the Italian Constitutional Court had ruled on the issue, after several regional courts previously dismissed challenges to the vaccine obligation on constitutional grounds.

A patient being administered a Covid jab.

Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP

One Lazio regional administrative court ruled in March 2022 that the question of constitutional compatibility was “manifestly unfounded”.

Such appeals usually centre on the question of whether the vaccine requirement can be justified in order to protect the ‘right to health’ as enshrined in the Italian Constitution.

READ ALSO: Italy allows suspended anti-vax doctors to return to work

Meanwhile, fines kicked in from Thursday, December 1st, for almost two million people in Italy who were required to get vaccinated under the mandate but refused.

This includes teachers, law enforcement and healthcare workers, and the over 50s, who face fines of 100 euros each under rules introduced in 2021.

Thursday was the deadline to justify non-compliance with the vaccination mandate due to health reasons, such as having contracted Covid during that period.

Italy’s health minister on Friday however appeared to suggest that the new government may choose not to enforce the fines.

“It could cost more for the state to collect the fines” than the resulting income, Health Minister Orazio Schillaci told Radio Rai 1.

He went on to say that it was a matter for the Economy and Finance Ministry, but suggested that the government was drawing up an amendment to the existing law.

READ ALSO: Covid vaccines halved Italy’s death toll, study finds

The League, one of the parties which comprises the new hard-right government, is pushing for fines for over-50s to be postponed until June 30th 2023.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had promised a clear break with her predecessor’s health policies, after her Brothers of Italy party railed against the way Mario Draghi’s government handled the pandemic in 2021 when it was in opposition.

At the end of October, shortly after taking office, the new government allowed doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to return to work earlier than planned after being suspended for refusing the Covid vaccine.

There has been uncertainty about the new government’s stance after the deputy health minister in November cast doubt on the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, saying he was “not for or against” vaccination.

Italy’s health ministry continues to advise people in at-risk groups to get a booster jab this winter, and this week stressed in social media posts that vaccination against Covid-19 and seasonal flu remained “the most effective way to protect ourselves and our loved ones, especially the elderly and frail”.

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