COVID-19 in Austria: Booster Vaccinations Now Available to Everyone in Vienna After Six Months

Lifestyle & TravelHealth ♦ Published: November 2, 2021; 13:29 ♦ (Vindobona)

Mayor Michael Ludwig has announced that the City of Vienna is now offering COVID-19 booster vaccinations to everyone in Vienna six months after they received their second dose. Read about the specifics of Vienna's booster vaccination campaign and where and when to get a third shot.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig: "As of 2 November, everyone in Vienna can have a third vaccination after six months. Everyone is called upon to get the third shot; only then will we get through the pandemic safely." / Picture: © Bundeskanzleramt (BKA) / Dragan Tatic

COVID-19 booster vaccinations are now available for everyone in Vienna that has already been fully vaccinated for six months. The Viennese government is also sending information about booster vaccinations to every household in Vienna to help spread awareness.

More than 50,000 booster vaccinations have already been administered in Vienna. However, for Vienna’s mayor Michael Ludwig, this is just the beginning.

“We know that the vaccination effect is weakening and that a third sting is therefore necessary. For this reason, as of 2 November, everyone in Vienna can have a third vaccination after six months. Everyone is called upon to get the third shot; only then will we get through the pandemic safely,” said Ludwig.

Peter Hacker, Vienna’s City Councilor for Health, also sees a high level of acceptance towards booster vaccinations.

Overall, 22 percent of those over 90, 20 percent of those over 80, and six percent of those over 70 have received COVID-19 booster vaccinations in Vienna since the start of booster vaccinations in early September.

The Covid-19 booster vaccination provides a permanent boost to immunization against the virus, which declines over time. “Because there are so many different statements about booster vaccination, it is important for us to keep the rules as simple as possible for our population,” Hacker said.

Vienna is currently in a better position than other federal states, “but this must not tempt us to become careless with the important COVID-19 booster vaccination,” appealed Medical Association President Thomas Szekeres. He says that all Viennese should take advantage of the vaccination offer of the City of Vienna as well as the physicians in private practice.

The booster vaccination is especially important for the elderly, nursing home residents, people with certain pre-existing conditions or a weakened immune system, and people in health care professions who were vaccinated earlier this year.

“The more aggressive delta variant of the coronavirus now dominates the infection scene,” warns Johannes Steinhart, Deputy President of the Vienna Medical Chamber. Steinhart says that this makes booster vaccination all the more important, especially for people who already received their first and second vaccination doses at the beginning of the year.

Steinhart also called on all those who have so far waived COVID-19 vaccination to get vaccinated, “Only vaccination protects against serious disease progression.”

Info letter from the city to all households

Written information will be sent to every Viennese household by mail describing in detail why it makes sense to get vaccinated a second time and how or where it is easiest to get this booster vaccination.

“In addition to the eleven vaccination centers of the City of Vienna and ÖGK, where the booster vaccinations are offered, you can also get the third shot from doctors in private practice,” Hacker and Steinhart reported.

Steinhart pointed out that the list of participating physicians is available on the City of Vienna’s website at www.wien.gv.at/spezial/corona-impfordination as well as on the Vienna Medical Association’s website at www.impfordi.at.

An appointment must be made by telephone for physicians in private practice. The telephone numbers of the vaccination offices can be found on the two websites.

Those who wish to be vaccinated at one of the 11 vaccination centers of the City of Vienna or the ÖGK must register via impfservice.wien or via 1450.

One can choose between the Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Cross-vaccination is available if desired.

All people who have been immunized with the AstraZeneca vaccine are also recommended to have a booster vaccination with Biontech/Pfizer or Moderna six months after their second dose.

Those who have been immunized with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine are advised to have a second shot with Biontech/Pfizer or Moderna 28 days after their initial vaccination.

“How well the booster vaccination works can be seen just by looking at our hospitals because not a single one of the intensive care patients is currently over 80 years old. This makes the situation in our hospitals fundamentally different from previous Corona waves,” concluded the Vienna City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker.

City of Vienna