A new survey has revealed that low-income workers in Germany are being left behind in the country’s vaccine programme.

Low-income earners left behind by vaccine rollout

Despite getting off to a rocky start, Germany’s vaccine programme has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months, with the most recent data showing that 57,9 percent of the population have had at least one jab, whilst 41,5 percent are now fully vaccinated against coronavirus. However, a survey by the Economic and Social Science Institute (WSI) has shown that low-income earners are starting to be left behind when it comes to vaccinations.

From a total of 4.500 employees in Germany, the survey found that only 49 percent of people from the bottom wage bracket reported having received at least one jab. In comparison, 71 percent of higher earners said they had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Calls to focus vaccination drive on priority groups

There have been calls to make access to the vaccine easier for low-income earners, and others who might otherwise struggle to get vaccinated. “With enough vaccines available in the summer months, all sections of the population must now have access to vaccination,” said Aline Zucco, an expert at the WSI. “Offering vaccination in the workplace is an important building block for this.”

Zucco suggested that in-house company doctors could help increase the vaccination rate among low-income and key workers. “If the company doctor offers an uncomplicated vaccination during working hours, many additional people can be reached that way,” said Zucco. “And if your own colleagues go for vaccination, that might also convince some who are still hesitant at the moment.”

Retail workers have been particularly overlooked in Germany’s vaccination drive, with only 52 percent of respondents working in retail receiving at least one jab despite working closely with the public. Food retail workers were even placed in priority group 3 of the country’s vaccination programme. However, the priority list was lifted and, according to Zucco, a lot of workers were left out and never received their vaccination. "Now quite a few of them apparently can’t find their way in the jungle around appointment allocation."

However, it should be noted that the proportion of low-income workers that do not want to be vaccinated is significantly higher than the proportion of higher-income earners who are against being vaccinated (about 9 percent compared to 4 percent).