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The active ingredient Astrazeneca causes a stir. But a virologist from Giessen defends the vaccine. Switzerland, on the other hand, is considering a radical step.
February 21 update at 12:40 pm.: Switzerland is considering reselling its Astrazeneca vaccine. What informs ntv citing the Neue Züricher Zeitung. Specifically, it is about 5.3 million cans that the government had already bought. The country is apparently responding to ongoing concerns about the vaccine. There were doubts about its effectiveness. So far, Swissmedic, the Swiss authority responsible for authorization, has not made a decision, but has referred to the need to obtain more data from ongoing studies.
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) had criticized prejudice against Astrazeneca on Saturday in a public poll. The effectiveness would then be 81 percent.
Giessen Virologist Defends Astrazeneca Vaccine: Violent Reaction Apparently a Good Sign
Update as of February 20, 12.30 pm: Giessen virologist Friedemann Weber breaks off the conversation Focus Online a lance for the Astrazeneca vaccine. After numerous employees of a clinic in Braunschweig reacted strongly to the vaccine (see update of February 18 at 9:28 pm), the worries are sometimes great. Christian Drosten recently defended the vaccine against criticism on the NDR podcast.
However, as Weber has pointed out, a violent reaction to the vaccine is a good sign. “That is the answer to the vaccine. People reacted particularly well, ”said the Giessen virologist. “That is the first sign that the immune system is activating and that is quite pronounced with all these vaccines.” This suggests that they trigger a good immune response, which can make people feel sick. So: a good sign.
Reaction to Astrazeneca vaccination: many clinic employees are absent on short notice
Update of February 18, 9:28 pm: At a Braunschweig clinic, several employees reported being ill after a corona vaccination with the active ingredient Astra-Zeneca. 37 of 88 employees were temporarily unable to work (see the first report). The clinic’s medical director, Professor Karl-Dieter Heller, nevertheless advises vaccination against Astrazeneca, as he does now with regard to the FACE explained.
The doctor clarified that his employees were well again shortly after the symptoms appeared: “On Monday everyone was able to go back to work. Most of them felt good again on Saturday. No one was injured. ” However, Heller was surprised by the magnitude of the side effects: “We expected side effects in 10 to 15 percent of employees, but we ended up with 40 percent.”
However, this effect is not a cause for concern, on the contrary. Because “vaccines are obviously so powerful that the immune system reacts strongly to them. If you discuss this with a virologist, they will conclude that vaccination is effective. “
The vaccination situation had previously been discussed with the clinic staff. Many employees would have liked to be immunized with the active ingredient Biontech / Pfizer, as it is more effective than Astrazeneca. Since Biontech / Pfizer will be used mainly in the elderly population (65+), the Braunschweig Clinic had to turn to Astrazeneca.
Experts at the Helmholtz Institute for Infection Research finally convinced Heller from Astrazeneca: “They said very clearly: get vaccinated anyway. It is better to be 70 percent effective than not vaccinated. Likewise, a less intensive course can be expected after vaccination in case of the disease ”. For this reason, the doctor continues to appeal to be vaccinated against Covid-19: “The vaccine works and its effect is even stronger after a few weeks. Definitely not being vaccinated is worse. “
The vaccine from the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca is intended to help stop the spread of the coronavirus: On January 29, 2021, the vaccine received a conditional marketing authorization in the EU, and on February 15 the WHO also ruled to favor of her. .
© Martin Wagner / imago-images
Astrazeneca vaccine: Expert advises a third vaccine, from another manufacturer
Update on February 18 at 11:20 am.: Criticism of the Astrazeneca vaccine does not cease, in many cases this has already led to missing vaccination dates (see update of February 17). After a remarkably large number of employees at two clinics displayed a surprising number of symptoms after vaccination with the vaccine, the clinics even temporarily suspended the Astrazeneca vaccine.
In an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine, Immunology professor Carsten Watzl explains: “The Astrazeneca product is a very good vaccine, even if the others are slightly better.” While the Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have an effect of around 94 percent. , the effect of the Astrazeneca vaccine should be around 70 percent. But as Watzl further explains in the interview, a vaccination with the active ingredient of Astrazeneca also offers greater safety than not receiving any vaccine.
“One difference between vaccines is that with mRNA vaccines, these side effects occur more and more often after the second vaccine rather than the first. In Astrazeneca it is exactly the opposite ”, continues the immunologist. However, it is also possible to boost the immunity that was activated by the active substance in Astrazeneca later with another vaccine. “So it would not be a problem to catch up with a third vaccination with an mRNA vaccine.”
In his new podcast, virologist Christian Drosten, for his part, is very much in favor of the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Astrazeneca vaccine under fire: Virologist weakens concerns about lack of effect
Update on February 17 at 4:20 pm.: Criticism of the Astrazeneca vaccine has been mounting for days. After a notable number of employees at one clinic reported that they were ill after being vaccinated with the active ingredient, two clinics reacted (see original report). But as the virologist Prof. Plachter from the University of Mainz in a conversation with picture explains, one can be sure that the vaccine works as soon as the body reacts to the administration.
“In principle, the vaccination reaction only means that the immune system is activated and that is a good sign”, explains the expert. Consequently, it is “complaining at a high level” and “not bad” if the vaccinated person is unwell for a few days.
Crown in Germany – Willingness to Vaccinate Apparently Already Decreasing – First Appointments Canceled
February 17 update at 3:20 pm.: More and more people in Germany and around the world are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, but the active ingredient in Astrazeneca in particular is now making headlines again. After a large number of employees reported that they were sick after being vaccinated with the vaccine, two clinics in Germany stopped inoculating the active ingredient (see original notification below).
After Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn confirmed at a morning news conference that the incident was being investigated by the Paul Ehrlich Institute, concerns about the administration of the Astrazeneca vaccine are now mounting. As reported by n-tv, among other things, some people eligible for vaccination are said to have already let their appointment expire before worrying about the Astrazeneca vaccine. “Yes, appointments with us were canceled, people did not come,” a Paderborn district spokeswoman told the television station. According to the NRW Ministry of Health, there is still no national overview of the number of canceled appointments.
As n-tv further reports, after accumulated disease reports in clinics, only 8,806 doses of the 72,000 doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine delivered to Lower Saxony are said to have been vaccinated up to and including Tuesday. The Hannover Ministry of Health confirmed this to the television station.
Too many sick employees with side effects: German clinics suspend Astrazeneca vaccination
Original notification of February 17, 2020: Braunschweig – After the first regions of Sweden already suspended vaccination with the Astrazeneca vaccine, the first clinics in Lower Saxony also suspended vaccines with the vaccine. After complaints from several clinic employees about side effects, the administration of the active ingredient was stopped in two places, as reported by owl24.de *.
Corona in Germany: Too Many Employees Report Ill After Astrazeneca Vaccination
The Duchess Elisabeth Hospital in Braunschweig announced on Tuesday that it would postpone planned vaccinations with this preparation. Vaccines with the Astrazeneca vaccine were also stopped at the Emden Clinic. However, on Tuesday night, the district of Leer gave the green light to the administration of the active ingredient. The reason for this: After 88 employees of the Braunschweig Clinic were vaccinated by Astrazeneca, 37 of them reported being temporarily ill due to “vaccination reactions.” The vaccination took place on Thursday. For this reason, in order not to jeopardize the operations, the clinic stopped any further vaccinations with the active ingredient Astrazeneca.
Employees at the Emden Clinic also reported being ill after vaccinations. As a result, the Leer district also initially announced that it would no longer inject the agent. “Because our vaccination doses probably come from the same batch as in Emden,” he said.
Corona in Germany – Side effects can happen, but does the batch problem cause complications?
According to the Robert Koch Institute *, side effects and reactions can occur with both the Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines and the vector-based preparation of Astrazeneca. The head of the crisis team in Lower Saxony, Heiger Scholz, was surprised on Tuesday by the increase in the occurrence of
Side effects. A batch problem cannot be ruled out. So far, the side effects have not been serious and no one has had to go to a clinic with complications, Scholz said. Ultimately, the expected side effects are a positive sign – you can see that the vaccine is working.
South Africa had already reported problems with the Astrazeneca vaccine. According to a media report, the country plans to return one million doses of the vaccine. A study has shown that the vaccine has only limited effects against the virus mutation discovered in South Africa.
Corona in Germany: Paul Ehrlich Institute reported – incident is now being investigated
The Paul Ehrlich Institute responsible for vaccine safety has been informed. An evaluation of specific cases is currently not possible, said a spokeswoman for the institute of the “Braunschweiger Zeitung”. It is currently being investigated whether the reactions were beyond what was observed in clinical trials. The manufacturer sees no cause for concern. “Currently, the reported reactions are what we would expect based on the findings from our clinical trial program,” Astrazeneca announced Monday upon request.
Meanwhile, the number of new infections continues to decline, but more than 200 employees of an ice cream factory in Osnabrück have been infected with the corona virus *. * Merkur.de and owl24.de are part of the Ippen-Digital publishing network.
Rubrics list image: © Kay Nietfeld
