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How is the German vaccination campaign going now? And what happens during and after vaccination? Answers to the most important questions:
Who will get vaccinated first?
The German vaccination ordinance defines a total of three groups with priority “higher”, “high” and “increased”:
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The highest priority is given to people 80 years of age and over, people in nursing homes and for the elderly, their nursing staff and medical staff, for example in intensive care units.
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High priority is given to people aged 70 and over, people with dementia, police and law enforcement officials, people from the public health service, but also residents of homeless and refugee shelters.
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The highest priority applies to people aged 60 and over, people with certain diseases, but also to educators, teachers and retailers.
What about vaccination?
The vaccine is given by two injections in the arm three weeks apart. According to large-scale testing by developers Biontech and Pfizer, the vaccine provides 95 percent protection against the coronavirus. The side effects were mild to moderate and disappeared quickly, according to the publication of the study results. The most serious side effects occurred after injecting the second dose: 3.8 percent of the cases fatigue and 2 percent of the cases headache. Older adults tended to have fewer and milder side effects.
The vaccine developed by the partners is the first of its kind to use so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. This approach uses the human body’s messaging system to turn cells into disease control factories. Messenger RNA instructs cells to make proteins that are necessary for almost all human functions. In the new vaccines, laboratory-made mRNA is introduced into human cells to produce viral proteins that ultimately trigger an immune response.
What protection does the vaccine offer?
Just one week after the second injection, about four weeks after the first, the vaccine offers protection against the disease. However, it is not clear whether the vaccine also prevents the vaccinated person from continuing to transmit the virus. Some vaccines do, like hepatitis A, but others don’t. Vaccination against Covid-19 prevents the outbreak of the disease, but does not necessarily prevent the vaccinated person from being contagious. This allows a vaccinated person to pass the virus to other people who can later become ill.
It is also not clear yet how long the vaccine will protect against the disease. Experts believe this will only clear up in a few months. “Until then, it’s best to avoid the pub and other face-to-face gatherings with large numbers of people,” recommends Anita Shet, an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Does the vaccine mean a return to normal life?
Probably not at first. Scientists advocate that vaccinated people adhere to AHA rules: keep your distance, wash your hands regularly, and wear a mask. Michelle Barron, senior medical director of infection prevention at UCHealth in Colorado, cautions: “Like any other vaccine, this one may work very well in certain subgroups of patients and not so well in others. Are you free to get on a plane or invite 30 people to your house? Probably not.”
