Getting vaccinated at a pharmacy in Germany

Adults can be vaccinated at a pharmacy without a doctor’s appointment and without a referral. Since 2 July 2026 this is no longer limited to flu and COVID-19.

What changed

Until then, pharmacies in Germany could vaccinate only against flu and COVID-19. Under the Apothekenversorgung-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz, the act that widened what a pharmacy may do, trained pharmacists may now vaccinate adults with any inactivated vaccine. The rule is in § 20c of the Infektionsschutzgesetz, Germany’s Infection Protection Act, and it covers every vaccine that is not a live vaccine.

Pharmacists may vaccinate only once a physician has trained them, and for flu and COVID-19 that training has existed for years. In July 2026 the Bundesapothekerkammer and the Bundesärztekammer, the federal chambers of pharmacists and physicians, were still drawing it up for the new vaccinations. What each pharmacy offers today is therefore listed in the search results.

As before, no pharmacy has to vaccinate. Each one decides for itself whether to offer vaccinations and which ones.

Which vaccinations are possible

The ten vaccinations below can be given at a pharmacy. Each linked page says who the vaccination is recommended for and which pharmacies offer it.

• Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)
• Flu
• COVID-19
• Tetanus / Diphtheria / Whooping cough / Polio
• Hepatitis A / Hepatitis B
• Pneumococcal disease
• RSV
• Shingles
• Meningococcal B
• Meningococcal ACWY

How old you have to be

You have to be at least 18 for any vaccination at a pharmacy, COVID-19 included.

The age limit is set in § 20c of the Infektionsschutzgesetz, and no pharmacy can make an exception. People under 18 are vaccinated at a doctor’s practice, usually a paediatric practice.

What it costs

Your statutory health insurer pays the full cost of the vaccinations you are entitled to, and no co-payment is due. Which ones those are depends on the 2026 recommendations of the Ständige Impfkommission, Germany’s standing committee on vaccination. Who is entitled to which vaccination is set out in the Schutzimpfungs-Richtlinie, the directive of the Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss. The page for each vaccination explains it in plain words.

How an appointment works

Allow just under half an hour. Every pharmacy follows the same steps.

1. Consultation. The pharmacist asks about existing conditions, allergies and medication, and explains what the vaccination involves.
2. Consent. You confirm in writing that you have been informed and agree.
3. The vaccination. Usually into the upper arm, over in seconds.
4. Observation and record. You stay in the pharmacy a little longer. The vaccination then goes into your vaccination record.

Bring your vaccination record and health insurance card.

What is not possible at a pharmacy

• Children and adolescents under 18. The earlier rule allowing the COVID-19 vaccination at a pharmacy from age 12 ended in the summer of 2026.
• Live vaccines, such as those against measles, mumps, rubella, mpox and chickenpox. These are given at a doctor’s practice.
• Yellow fever. Only licensed yellow fever vaccination centres may give it.

If you are pregnant, have a chronic illness or take medication that affects your immune system, talk to your pharmacy or your doctor beforehand. They will work out with you what is right in your case.