In the interest of monitoring the safety of vaccines and biomedicines, we ask you to report suspected cases of adverse events online. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut provides a form for this purpose at www.nebenwirkungen.bund.de. After submitting a report, you will receive a confirmation of receipt and a specific PEI number. However, this number is not used for personal contact with the vaccinated person or their relatives.
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut requires suspected case reports for signal detection – i.e. for identifying possible, previously unknown vaccine risks. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut cannot offer individual vaccination advice, as it is not a clinical institution. If you suspect you have experienced an adverse event or vaccination complication, please contact your attending physician for clarification and treatment.
Online Reporting of Side Effects (German only)
Where can I find information and data on vaccine and medicinal product side effects?
According to section 24 of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch, SGB) XIV, vaccination damage is understood to mean damage to one's health that exceeds the usual extent of a vaccination reaction. Section 5 of the SGB XIV regulates the degrees of damage and stipulates that temporary health conditions lasting up to six months are not to be considered as damage.
If a vaccinated person or their relatives suspect that they have suffered vaccination damage after a publicly recommended vaccination, they can submit an application for relief under the Federal War Victims Relief Act (Bundesversorgungsgesetz) in accordance with section 24 of the Social Code (SGB) XIV in conjunction with section 4 of the Social Code XIV. The application for compensation must be submitted to the Social Service Department (Landesversorgungsamt) in the federal state in whose territory the vaccination was carried out in accordance with section 113 subsection 5 of the SGB XIV. The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is not responsible for processing recognition procedures for vaccination damages.
Reporting the suspicion of a vaccine side effect or vaccine complication within the meaning of section 6 of the Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz, IfSG) – i.e. the suspicion of damage beyond the usual extent of a vaccination reaction – to the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut does not constitute an application for recognition of vaccine damage. Submitting a report is separate from the application and serves to detect early indications of possible signals of serious side effects in order to initiate any necessary risk prevention measures.
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut cannot provide vaccination advice to individuals because it is not a clinical institution. Many factors can influence medical advice and these can only be adequately taken into account through personal contact between the patient and their attending physician. If you have any questions about your individual case, please contact your doctor.
Vaccination recommendations are issued exclusively by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch-Institut (RKI). The current STIKO recommendations incl. vaccination calendar and additional information organised by infectious disease can be found on the RKI website.
Information from the Robert Koch-Institut on immunisationThe Paul-Ehrlich-Institut cannot provide individual vaccination advice because it is not a clinical institution.
Doctors who have questions about the use of vaccines in individual vaccination cases – such as pre-existing conditions or risk groups – can contact the Immunization Unit at the Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) directly. Telephone consultations (for doctors only) are offered on Thursdays from 12:00 – 14:00; Tel. (030) 18 754 - 35 39.
The Permanent Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centres for high consequence infectious diseases (STAKOB), based at the RKI, offers individual infectiological advice for doctors in cooperation with the German Society for Infectious Diseases (DGI).
Infectiology Advice Network for Physicians – An offer from STAKOB and DGI (German only)
Updated: 17.04.2025
