Impact of COVID-19 immunisation on COVID-19 incidence, hospitalisations, and deaths by age group in Germany from December 2020 to October 2021

Abstract

Background: Utilising national surveillance data, we investigated the impact of the COVID-19 immunisation campaign on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality between December/2020 and October/2021 in Germany.

Methods: We compared patterns in immunisation coverage, incidence, hospitalisations, and deaths among 12-17, 18-59, and 60+ year-olds and examined these patterns within the context of anti-pandemic measures.

Results: COVID-19 incidence increased in all age groups following the end of lockdown restrictions in March/2021, but as Germany experienced successive peaks in incidence, age groups with higher immunisation coverage experienced successively smaller peaks. Notwithstanding corresponding increases during periods of higher incidence, among those aged 60+ years, COVID-19 related hospitalisations and deaths declined considerably as immunisation coverage increased, despite circulation of virus variants known to cause more severe illness.

Conclusion: Although ecological in nature, this study allows us to demonstrate clear patterns of decline in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in Germany during the course of the immunisation campaign.

Keywords: COVID-19; Germany; Immunisation; Public health; Surveillance.