Thomas Michael Christian Mertens (born 10 March 1950 in Freiburg im Breisgau[1]) is a German virologist[2] and former head of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), which as part of the Robert Koch Institute advises the German government regarding vaccines, in which role he became well-known to a wider audience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.
[5] In November 2023, the Federal Ministry of Health announced that a three-term limit would be applied to STIKO members, implying that Mertens would step down at the end of his term in February 2024.
[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, after vaccines became available in late 2020, STIKO and Mertens moved into the focus of politics, the wider public, and the media.
[8][10][11] He himself was criticized for having allegedly confused the public on several occasions, and for having announced an upcoming STIKO recommendation for a booster shot for all adults in a talk show, rather than through standard channels, in November 2021.
[16] Mertens became an inaugural member of the Corona-Expertenrat (corona advisory panel) established by the Scholz cabinet in December 2021.
[19] In an interview published in November 2023, Mertens said he saw "no real mistakes" in the work of STIKO during the pandemic; criticism directed at the commission had often been "simply wrong".