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Astra Zeneca’s first deliveries are expected to arrive in Austria next week, totaling 780,000 cans by the end of March, provided there are no further bottlenecks in deliveries. As there is still insufficient data on the efficacy of the vaccine for people over 64 years of age, the following groups should receive Astra Zeneca in the first trimester: exposed healthcare workers, mobile care workers, people with disabilities and their assistants.
Maria Paulke-Korinek, head of the vaccination department at the Ministry of Health, told me Ö1 morning newspaper: “If you look at our vaccination schedule, we assumed from the beginning that phase 2 would start at the end of February.” This is now delayed until mid-March, that is, “a week or two”.
Astra Zeneca allows longer intervals between vaccinations
The reason: with the Astra Zeneca vector vaccine, the first and second doses must be vaccinated with a significantly longer interval than with Biontech / Pfizer, for example. According to the National Immunization Committee, “an interval of eleven to twelve weeks” makes sense, Paulke-Korinek said. The reason: better immunogenicity and protective effect were found with longer vaccination intervals between the first and second doses. The protective effect begins after three weeks.
Paulke-Kronik sees it positively: “I have more leeway and I can also vaccinate a larger proportion of people because I will only need the second dose in 11 to 12 weeks.” Translated: It can provide a primary vaccination to a higher percentage of people.
