Austria faces a critical public health challenge as low vaccination rates, particularly among older adults, contribute to severe influenza mortality and highlight an over-reliance on acute care over preventive medicine. According to official data and health experts, only a small fraction of total healthcare spending in Austria goes toward prevention, leaving the country well behind European vaccination targets and prompting government plans to expand immunization access to local pharmacies by 2027.
Vaccination Rates Lag Behind European Averages
Austria spends heavily on healthcare per capita, yet the vast majority of these funds target acute treatment rather than prevention. Preventive measures account for only two to three percent of total healthcare expenditures, according to recent health statistics.
This imbalance is most visible during flu season. Less than 25 percent of adults aged 65 and older in Austria receive an annual influenza vaccination. This figure sits far below the European Union average of 51 percent and falls drastically short of the target 75 percent benchmark established by the European Union. Consequently, Austria recorded the highest influenza mortality rate within the EU in 2022.
Expanding Access Through Local Pharmacies
To close this immunity gap, the Austrian government announced plans in February to allow pharmacies to administer vaccines nationwide by 2027 at the latest, building upon recent expansions to the adult immunization program that added free coverage for shingles (herpes zoster) and pneumococcal disease.
Thomas W. Veitschegger, president of the Austrian Pharmacists’ Association (Österreichischer Apothekerverband), notes that administrative friction rather than vaccine hesitancy often drives down uptake.
“The hurdle is frequently not the vaccination itself. The biggest hurdle is the effort: scheduling an appointment, finding time,” Veitschegger says, pointing out that 600,000 people visit Austrian pharmacies daily.
Pharmacies offer a high-density infrastructure, with 95 percent of the population living within a ten-minute reach of a pharmacy, and 64 percent visiting at least once a month. According to the Pharmacists’ Association, pharmacists across numerous locations have already completed voluntary vaccination training programs in preparation for the rollout.
International Precedents and Patient Safety
Proponents of pharmacy-based vaccination point to successful models across Europe. Ilaria Passarani, secretary general of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU), notes that 19 European countries successfully administer vaccines in community pharmacies.
In Denmark, where pharmacies deliver roughly 50 percent of all influenza shots, vaccination coverage among adults over 60 has reached 78 percent. Similarly, data from the German Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists (ABDA) indicates that 17 percent of vaccinated patients in Germany received their shot specifically because the service was available at a local pharmacy. In Germany, legislative changes expanded pharmacy authorities in mid-2026 to include all standard non-live vaccines for adults aged 18 and older.
In Austria, patient advocates emphasize the need for clear legal and safety frameworks alongside the expansion. Michaela Wlattnig, spokesperson for the Austrian Patient and Care Ombudsman offices, supports the initiative as a low-threshold option for younger demographics who may lack a regular family doctor, provided that rigorous documentation, counseling, and legal protections for patients remain in place.
Peter McDonald, chairman of the Austrian Social Security Association (Dachverband der Sozialversicherungen), also backs the broader availability of preventive care outside traditional clinical settings.
“If pharmacies and representatives of other health professions help relieve doctors and reach new groups, that is a win for everyone in the health system—especially for the patients,” McDonald says.