Vaccines New
List of authorised vaccines New
This list contains all vaccines currently authorised in Austria (alphabetically by product name) with the following information:
- product name
- marketing authorisation holder
- indication
- target group
- possible remarks
- Adjuvant yes/no or type of adjuvant
- Thiomersal yes/no
Information on current availability and pricing as well as comparisons between different products with the same indication are not included.
On the question of availability, it is possible to consult the "Shortages Catalogue" list.
Official Vaccination Recommendations in Austria 2023
The "Austrian Vaccination Plan 2023" contains all current national vaccination recommendations.
Vaccination recommendations for adults of working age
Explanations and definitions in addition to the Austrian Vaccination Plan: For the first time in Austria there are concrete vaccination recommendations for adults of working age in order to draw attention to the topic of vaccination prevention for certain occupational groups in addition to the Austrian vaccination plan.
Although the Austrian Vaccination Plan makes clear recommendations for vaccinations in adults, too low vaccination coverage rates can be observed. In order to increase this, more in-depth information and low-threshold access to the necessary vaccinations are needed. This also takes into account the WHO idea of bringing health promotion and prevention to where people live and work.
The workplace is therefore an ideal place to advise people of working age and ideally offer them local vaccination.
However, not only company doctors and occupational physicians are addressed here, but also all doctors and healthcare workers (HCWs) who provide medical care to this target group.
Special attention is given in this publication to specific occupational groups, such as social professions such as kindergarten teachers, teachers or social workers, care staff in refugee homes, emergency services, the military, people from food processing companies, hunters, foresters, farmers and veterinarians. For the latter, for example, protection against hepatitis A/B and rabies is explicitly recommended.
The chapter "Indication, Implementation and Cost Assumption" contains recommendations from the AUVA's point of view - with particular reference to the Employee Protection Act and the General Social Insurance Act. What the successful implementation of vaccination prevention in the workplace could look like is illustrated by means of a "best practice" model carried out in a large company. "Vaccinations for employees posted abroad" as well as labour law aspects (vaccination obligation, right to ask questions, duty of care, bearing of costs, etc.) are discussed in detail in separate sections.
The document "Vaccinations for adults of working age, explanations and definitions in addition to the Austrian Vaccination Plan" can be downloaded from the BMGF website.
Vaccinations for health care workers
For the first time in Austria there are concrete vaccination recommendations for employees in the health care system in order to protect not only these but above all also the patients entrusted to them from infectious diseases.
The transmission of infectious diseases in the medical field often represents an underestimated danger. This applies on the one hand to health care personnel (doctors, nurses, laboratory and cleaning staff, rescue services, civilian servants, students, home help etc.) and on the other hand above all to patients who are more susceptible to infections due to their illness. This topic was previously dealt with in the Austrian Vaccination Plan in the chapter "Vaccinations for health care personnel", but now the special requirements in the various facilities in private practice and in hospital operations are specifically and extensively dealt with.
Apart from the vaccinations recommended for all persons such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, etc., for example, laboratory staff working with meningococcal isolates are advised to take appropriate prophylaxis.
As this subject area covers a variety of different aspects, experts from medical as well as ethical and legal fields were involved in the preparation of this Recommendation.
In Austria, there is no legal basis for mandatory vaccination; it is therefore all the more important to make health care workers aware of the importance of vaccination both for their own protection and that of patients in order to be able to make an informed decision - on the basis of evidence-based recommendations.
The document "Vaccinations for health care workers, recommendations as an extension of the Austrian Vaccination Plan" can be downloaded online.
Reactions and side effects after vaccinations
Uncertainties and scepticism about vaccination are primarily based on fear of side effects or damage caused by vaccination. In order to provide evidence-based information for health care professionals and patients, an addendum to the Austrian Vaccination Plan was prepared.
Hardly any other drug causes as much uncertainty and fear - sometimes unfounded - as vaccines. This is due to the fact that the vaccinated are healthy (and here primarily children) on the one hand and the large amount of misinformation in the media, especially the Internet, on the other. In order to provide the public with evidence-based information, an addendum to the Austrian Vaccination Plan was published. It deals with definitions and delimitations with regard to vaccination reactions, vaccination side effects and vaccination damage, causality assessment of vaccination side effects, the role of the drug authority as a monitoring body and excipients (in particular adjuvants). In addition, it describes how the section "Side effects" in the product information arises. These mostly very complex subject areas are explained with illustrative examples for a better understanding.
The document "Reactions and side effects after vaccinations" can be downloaded from the BMGF website.
Recommendation Influenza vaccination (flu vaccination) Season 2022/2023
Current recommendation of the Ministry of Health for 2022/2023.
The annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all who want to protect themselves, but especially for the groups of people with risk factors mentioned in the recommendation:
- Children from the age of 6 years
- People with chronic diseases
- People from the age of 60
- Health and nursing staff
- Staff in community facilities (e.g. childcare facilities, schools, social institutions, etc.)
- Pregnant women and women who want to become pregnant during the influenza season
- Persons with frequent contact with the public (e.g. personnel in trade, gastronomy, tourism, etc.)
EU Recommendations for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Composition for the Season 2023/2024
Approval of vaccines
Prophylactic vaccines must be safe drugs as far as possible because, unlike therapeutic drugs, they are mostly administered to healthy people who, depending on their exposure, may only have a small risk of developing the disease without vaccination.
This results in special requirements for the so-called benefit-risk assessment of vaccines within the framework of an approval procedure. Modern vaccines are generally well tolerated due to the current production and analytical control requirements.
Approval process for a vaccine
A vaccine is approved in Europe within the framework of EU-wide or national procedures according to a strictly regulated procedure within legal deadlines. The quality (manufacturing), safety and efficacy of a vaccine are reviewed based on preclinical and clinical data.
The official activities form a very complex safety net at all levels in the life cycle of a drug or vaccine: clinical trials, scientific advice, approval procedures, post-marketing studies required on a case-by-case basis, official inspections, batch testing and pharmacovigilance.
COVID-19 vaccines are subject to an accelerated approval process. For further information please visit the AGES website.
Batch release
Before a batch of vaccine may be placed on the Austrian market, it must have been tested by an Official Medicines Control Laboratory (OMCL) of an EU/EEA Member State. The results must comply with the specifications approved in the Austrian approval. The batch production and test protocols are checked for each product batch. In addition, the submitted test samples are subjected to the prescribed analyses. The Austrian OMCL of BASG/AGES has specialised in the testing of TBE and influenza vaccines (including pandemic vaccines) in recent years.