I’ve searched the subreddit; lots of past posts on similar questions, but the info changes quickly, and I didn’t see anything addressing this specific issue.
I’ve been here for 3 months now, still trying to get health insurance…now TK is telling me it could take another month (or longer) before they can validate my eligibility … blah-blah … I don’t want to talk about my problems getting health insurance. Just stipulate that I don’t have it, and it might be awhile before I can get it.
I’ve also spent months trying to figure out how to get a Covid booster shot here (I definitely need one; last one was over a year ago, last Covid infection was a month after the booster, I’m 55). The official websites keep taking me on these long, labyrinthine journeys and never getting to an actual “schedule your appointment here” web page.
Finally went to my local pharmacy and asked them, and they pointed me to a local doctor and said “go there” …
And the local doctor (the doctor herself, not a nurse or receptionist; the person actually sticking the needle in my arm, who actually owns the clinic) told me that, A) I cannot get vaccinated without health insurance, and B) I may have to wait a month or longer (after I have insurance) because there are six doses in a pack, 20 Euro apiece, and they have to use up all 6 after they open a pack, and no one else wants a vaccination, so I’ll have to wait until 5 other people register for it … again … *after* I get health insurance and come back to them.
I offered to pay for it out-of-pocket … can’t do that, “because the govt pays for it, and gets reimbursed by the insurance companies” … I offered to pay for all 6 doses so I don’t have to wait a month after I have insurance … can’t do that either.
So I can easily be looking at another 2 months or more, before I can get vaccinated.
The doctor was polite and helpful and clearly explained this all in both German and English. No confusion, no misunderstanding.
I’m in a suburb outside of Essen. I have searched online several times, and if Essen still has an “official vaccination center”, they seem to have hidden it well.
Am I just getting bad info here? Is this accurate? Is this just here in my new hometown? Or is this all of Germany?
Thanks in advance
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Edit: I just found this —
“Aufgrund eines Erlasses des Landes NRW hat die Stadt Essen ihr Angebot für Corona-Schutzimpfungen Mitte Dezember komplett eingestellt. Impfungen sind weiterhin in Arztpraxen und Apotheken möglich.”
https://www.essen.de/leben/gesundheit/corona_virus/impfung/coronavirus_impfung_1.de.html
6 comments
Don’t get it. I wrote for a colleague from Japan last week and applied for health insurance. Yesterday, the confirmation arrived. However, you should have either public health insurance or you are privately insured.
Have you checked with an apothecary? Just try different doctors. Sounds like yours is not competent
Have a look at the website doctolib where you can book appointments online. As far as I can see they have some free slots in Essen in the coming days.
You can look for a pharmacy that offers vaccinations in your area [here](https://www.mein-apothekenmanager.de/) – make sure to select the vaccination in “Serviceleistung”. It’s possible that the one you went to doesn’t offer it at all, as it’s a relatively new thing for pharmacies to vaccinate.
Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine, with a German passport but no health insurance due to not having lived in Germany for over a decade, just walked into a vaccination center and got the jab.
No questions asked and all paperwork done.
Hi, I’m also living in Essen. I got my Covid vaccines and the first booster back when the city had those vaccination centers. I got Covid about 7 months after my last vaccination, so I figured I still have enough antibodies and don’t yet need my second booster. What I can say is that when they had those vaccination centers, I did not need to show my insurance card, and it was completely free. All I needed to show was my residence permit, and I brought my American passport just in case. I agree that it sounds like your doctor is a bit incompetent. A Hausarzt in my part of Essen is offering them still (last I checked…), but I don’t know if he wants to see insurance for it. Even if they do, you should still be able to get it and just pay out of pocket.
It’s strange that your insurance provider is causing you so many problems. As a fellow foreigner though, I understand not wanting to explain it lol. There’s a lot of roadblocks for us here in Germany.