Medically reviewed guide · Last updated: 23 June 2026 · Reading time: approx. 13 min

Vaccinations for adults: which ones make sense?

Many people think above all of childhood with vaccinations. Yet the vaccination protection does not end with becoming an adult: some vaccinations must be boosted regularly, others are only added with increasing age or with certain risks. This guide gives an overview of which vaccinations the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) recommends to adults, ordered by age and life situation, from the tetanus booster over the shingles vaccination to flu and RSV. The aim is a factual orientation that eases the conversation in the medical practice. Important beforehand: this guide does not replace medical advice. The STIKO recommendations are updated regularly, which is why the concrete vaccination plan is always determined individually and medically. The age limits and intervals named here reflect the general framework, the decisive and respectively current status is found at the Robert Koch Institute.

Why vaccinations are important in adulthood too

Vaccinations protect not only children. In adulthood too a complete vaccination protection is important, because the protection of some vaccinations wanes over time and must be boosted. Some diseases that earlier affected almost only children today occur with adults too, for example because the vaccination protection was not consistently boosted over the course of life. Added to this is that the capacity of the immune system decreases with increasing age. Infections then occur more frequently, often run more severely and last longer. Anyone who additionally has chronic diseases such as diabetes, a heart weakness or a lung disease carries an even higher risk for severe courses. Exactly for this reason there are vaccinations that are specifically recommended in older age or with certain pre-existing conditions. A good vaccination protection can prevent infections that hit older people especially hard from arising at all or running severely, and thus relieves the health system too.

The basis for the recommendations in Germany is formed by the Standing Vaccination Commission, STIKO for short. This is an independent expert body at the Robert Koch Institute, which on the basis of current scientific data weighs which vaccinations offer a sensible protection. STIKO distinguishes thereby between standard vaccinations, which are recommended for all of a certain age group, and indication vaccinations, which are aimed at people with certain risks, professions or travel destinations. This distinction helps to keep the overview, because not every vaccination is intended for everyone but is based on the respective life situation. The Joint Federal Committee orients itself by these recommendations too, which determines which vaccinations the health insurers pay. For most of the vaccinations recommended by STIKO no costs therefore arise for you, which eases the decision and ensures that a good vaccination protection does not fail because of money.

Standard vaccinations for all adults

Independently of age there are some vaccinations that are recommended for all adults. They form the basis of the vaccination protection and should be present independently of pre-existing conditions or life circumstances. The best-known is the booster against tetanus, also called lockjaw, and diphtheria, which should take place every ten years, mostly as a combined Td vaccination. With the next due booster, the whooping cough component should moreover be added once, that is as a Tdap combination. If the protection against polio is incomplete, this too can be boosted in the same step. These boosters are uncomplicated and can be well combined with a doctor's visit that is due anyway. A tetanus booster is especially important, because the triggering bacteria can get into the body via small wounds, for example during gardening, and a disease can run life-threateningly.

A further important recommendation concerns measles. All adults born after 1970 who are vaccinated against measles only once or not at all, or whose vaccination status is unclear, should catch up on a one-time measles vaccination. This recommendation applies precisely because many in this age group were only incompletely vaccinated as a child. Measles are by no means a harmless childhood disease but can run severely with adults too. In rare cases serious complications such as a lung or brain inflammation threaten, which is why a secure measles protection is important in adulthood too and is in Germany in certain areas even legally regulated. Beyond this, every adult should have a complete basic protection against COVID-19. Which of these vaccinations are still missing with you or should be boosted, the comparison of your vaccination certificate with the STIKO recommendations shows. The one-time whooping cough vaccination is moreover especially important for people who have close contact with newborns, since whooping cough can be very dangerous for infants.

Additional vaccinations from 60 and from 75 years

With increasing age further standard vaccinations are added, because the immune system becomes weaker and infections can run more severely. These vaccinations are no sign that one has to feel old but a sensible precaution that helps to stay active and healthy. From 60 years STIKO additionally recommends the yearly flu vaccination, for which in this age group a high-dose vaccine is preferred, as well as the vaccination against pneumococci, which can cause among other things pneumonia. Likewise from 60 years the shingles vaccination is recommended as standard. Added to this is the yearly COVID-19 booster in autumn, which can take place at the same time as the flu vaccination. That several vaccinations are possible at one appointment is practical, because this way fewer doctor's visits are necessary and the protection nevertheless stands in time for the cold season.

A comparatively new recommendation concerns the RS virus, RSV for short. It can lead especially with older people to severe respiratory diseases. STIKO recommends the one-time RSV vaccination as standard for all from 75 years. For people between 60 and 74 years with certain severe underlying diseases, for example of the respiratory tract, the cardiovascular system or the kidneys, or with a life in a care facility, it is recommended already earlier. Anyone who falls into this group and is unsure whether their own disease counts among the named risks should address this specifically in the medical practice. Since many of these vaccinations are seasonal or age-dependent, a forward-looking planning together with the medical practice is worthwhile. Anyone who is shortly before their 60th or 75th birthday, for example, can take the upcoming birthday as an occasion to have the vaccination protection checked and supplemented, ideally before the start of the flu and RSV season.

Further vaccinations depending on risk and travel

Beyond the standard vaccinations there are indication vaccinations that are based on individual risks. They are not intended for all adults but for people with whom a certain life circumstance, a pre-existing condition or a profession increases the risk for a certain infection. To this belongs the TBE vaccination against the tick-borne early-summer meningoencephalitis, which is recommended above all for people in or with stays in TBE risk areas. Certain chronic diseases too can make additional vaccinations sensible, for example against pneumococci or flu already before the age of 60. With diabetes, heart, lung or kidney diseases, own recommendations often apply, which your medical practice knows and applies to your situation. Before journeys to faraway countries, further vaccinations come into question depending on the destination, for example against hepatitis, yellow fever or other regional diseases. Here an early travel-medicine advice is worthwhile. Some of these vaccinations need several doses over weeks, which is why the appointment should not be arranged only shortly before departure but ideally a few weeks or months beforehand.

brite App

Health and vaccinations at a glance

Whether boosters, seasonal vaccinations or check-up appointments: keeping the overview is easier with a digital helper. brite supports you in ordering your health topics and going well prepared into the medical practice.

• Organise health topics clearly
• Be reminded of upcoming appointments
• Record questions for the doctor's conversation

Start for free now

In sum it applies: which vaccinations make sense for you depends on your age, your pre-existing conditions, your profession and your travel plans. A blanket vaccination plan that applies equally to everyone therefore does not exist, but a clear framework does, by which the individual advice orients itself. Especially relevant for older adults are the vaccinations against shingles, against flu and against RSV. The best starting point is always the vaccination certificate: a comparison with the current STIKO recommendations in the medical practice quickly shows what is missing or should be boosted. This way an unclear topic becomes a clear, individual vaccination plan. In the end it is not about having as many vaccinations as possible but the fitting, seamless protection for one's own life situation, which is planned together with the medical practice and maintained over the years.