Vaccination and blood diagnostics often get lumped together in public debate. For the pharmacy they are two separate services, each with its own training, legal frame, and routine. This post sorts both out in plain terms.
Can pharmacies vaccinate in 2026?
Yes. Within established rules, suitably trained pharmacists can offer certain vaccinations. Vaccination is its own, clearly separate skill. It is legally and professionally separate from the venous blood draw that the pharmacy reform law (ApoVWG) has newly regulated.
Whoever vaccinates needs the training set out for it and must meet the relevant professional and organizational conditions. Which vaccinations are possible in your pharmacy depends on the rules in force and on your pharmacists' chamber. Check the current status with your chamber before you build an offering.
Is vaccinating the same as the new blood draw in the pharmacy?
No. They are two different services, each with its own training. Vaccinating requires the vaccination-specific training. The venous blood draw is regulated through the ApoVWG and needs its own doctor-led training. Being allowed to do one does not automatically allow the other.
The ApoVWG has been in force since 2 July 2026. It allows licensed pharmacists to draw venous blood after doctor-led training. For this training, the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists and the Federal Medical Association are drawing up a model curriculum, which should be ready by 2 November 2026 at the latest. Vaccination is not affected by this and stays a separate skill.
How do vaccination and blood draw in the pharmacy differ?
Both services touch the skin with a needle, but they serve different goals and rest on different training. Vaccination brings a vaccine into the body. Blood draw takes a sample for lab diagnostics. Training, legal basis, and routine are each their own.
Vaccination and blood draw in the pharmacy, compared
| Feature |
Vaccination |
Blood draw |
| Purpose |
Give a vaccine (prevention) |
Take a blood sample for lab diagnostics |
| Training |
Its own vaccination-specific training |
Doctor-led training per model curriculum (ApoVWG) |
| Who may do it |
Suitably trained pharmacists |
Licensed pharmacists after training; PTAs not planned as things stand |
| Result |
Protection, noted in the vaccination record |
A lab report as a basis for a doctor's assessment |
The overview above lays out the core points. It does not replace the binding guidance from your pharmacists' chamber, but it helps keep the two topics clearly apart in the team.
Do you need a vaccination skill for blood draw, or the other way round?
No, the two skills are not transferable. A vaccination training does not entitle you to the venous blood draw, and the blood draw training does not entitle you to vaccinate. Anyone who wants to offer both must earn and prove each skill separately.
For the venous blood draw, the professional group also matters. As things stand, the venous draw is reserved for licensed pharmacists after the doctor-led training. PTAs are not planned for it so far. Capillary measurements, for example with established systems like Tasso+, are on the other hand already possible today within existing offerings and need no venous training.
Is blood diagnostics the same thing as the Aniva offering?
Aniva is a diagnostics infrastructure that supports pharmacies with blood testing. Aniva is expressly not a vaccination provider. Vaccination is its own skill and sits outside what a diagnostics infrastructure covers. You should keep the two topics clearly apart in your pharmacy's offering.
For blood diagnostics the rule is: a single blood value is not a diagnosis. It belongs in a doctor's hands and serves as a basis for a doctor's assessment. Pharmacies can offer such measurements and explain results clearly. The diagnostic and treatment call, however, stays a doctor's job. You can see how the full path works on our diagnostics page.
How do I prepare my team for the new blood draw?
First keep the vaccination and blood draw topics cleanly apart. Then check which professional group may deliver which service, and plan the training early. Organizational prep, such as rooms, hygiene, and routines, can be tackled now, regardless of the final model curriculum.
- Treat the vaccination and blood draw offerings as separate in the team, each with its own skill.
- Clarify who on the team is licensed and can take on the venous blood draw after training.
- Ask your pharmacists' chamber about the current status of training and the model curriculum; the model curriculum should be ready by 2 November 2026 at the latest.
- Look at capillary measurements that are already possible today without venous training, as a low-threshold entry.
- Prepare rooms, a hygiene concept, and the workflow so the start after training goes smoothly.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aniva a vaccination provider?
No. Aniva is a diagnostics infrastructure for blood tests in pharmacies and expressly not a vaccination provider. Vaccination is its own, separate skill. If your pharmacy wants to offer both vaccination and blood diagnostics, those are two independent offerings, each with its own requirement.
May PTAs vaccinate or draw blood in the pharmacy?
For the venous blood draw, PTAs are not planned as the ApoVWG stands; it stays reserved for licensed pharmacists after doctor-led training. Vaccination has its own rules and its own skill. Clarify the specific roles in your team with your pharmacists' chamber.
Do I need a separate training for vaccination and for blood draw?
Yes. The skills are not transferable. A vaccination training does not entitle you to the venous blood draw, and the blood draw training does not entitle you to vaccinate. For the blood draw, the basis comes from the doctor-led model curriculum under the ApoVWG.
Can I offer blood diagnostics without vaccinating?
Yes. The two services are independent of each other. Your pharmacy can offer blood diagnostics without having vaccinations in the program, and the other way round. For capillary measurements no venous training is needed either; they are already possible today within existing offerings.
Does a blood value in the pharmacy replace a doctor's visit?
No. A single blood value is not a diagnosis and belongs in a doctor's hands. The pharmacy can measure, explain results clearly, and point to a doctor's check when a value looks off. The diagnostic and treatment call stays a doctor's job.
Terms explained quickly
- ApoVWG is the pharmacy reform law, in force since 2 July 2026, which among other things regulates the venous blood draw by licensed pharmacists after doctor-led training.
- Model curriculum is the training frame drawn up by the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists and the Federal Medical Association for the venous blood draw, which should be ready by 2 November 2026 at the latest.
- Venous blood draw is taking blood from a vein, which the ApoVWG allows licensed pharmacists to do after doctor-led training.
- Capillary measurement is a low-threshold way of getting blood from the capillaries, for example with systems like Tasso+, which needs no venous training and is already possible today.
- License (Approbation) is the state approval to practice as a pharmacist, which under the ApoVWG the right to the venous blood draw is tied to.
Sources
For pharmacies
Aniva delivers the full blood diagnostics infrastructure for the local pharmacy: lab, doctor's assessment, app report, and logistics. Learn more at Aniva for pharmacies and in the post ApoVWG guide.
