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A corona vaccine is not yet approved in Germany, but preparations for the vaccines are increasingly specific. Where should vaccination centers be set up, how vaccines should be stored, and who should pay for everything – an overview.
Where should you vaccinate?
The national vaccination strategy states that the federal government purchases the vaccination doses and distributes them to fixed storage locations in each federal state. The first vaccination centers are said to have been established in December. There you will be vaccinated later. However, for nursing homes and nursing homes, mobile teams are provided. The vaccination centers will be operated by the federal states with the support of resident doctors and hospital doctors.
In Sedan For example, there are currently six vaccination centers with 15 vaccination posts each. According to RBB, the Berlin fair is a possible place. The Senate expects 20,000 people a day to be vaccinated there in the future. In Rhineland-Palatinate 36 vaccination centers will be built. Health Minister Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler expects the centers to be ready by mid-December.
In Saxony there is at least one vaccination center or point of contact for planned vaccination per district or urban district, reported the MDR. There will be 14 centers in Saxony-Anhalt. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania plans, for example, to establish corona vaccination centers in Rostock and Greifswald in mid-December. In Thuringia 29 vaccination centers are planned nationwide. I.
In Brandenburg Among other things, a corona test center with integrated vaccination points will be built. A concept for this is currently being worked out with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, said Astrid Tributh, Vice President of the Brandenburg Association of General Practitioners, the German Press Agency. It will be discussed in the coming weeks how many doctors will vaccinate there, according to the Tributh.
Why are vaccination centers necessary?
The distribution and storage of vaccines, but also the organization of vaccination, is complex and, of course, depends on the type of vaccine. The Ministry of Health assumes that vaccinations can therefore initially only be controlled and carried out efficiently at vaccination centers.
For example, handling the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine is likely to be a logistical challenge. The vials must be transported frozen at about 70 degrees below zero to the vaccination center. According to Pfizer, a special thermal case has been developed to store vaccination doses. In it, vaccination doses could be stored on dry ice for up to ten days at a temperature of around minus 75 degrees Celsius. The thermal cover is the size of a suitcase and weighs more than 30 kilos when fully loaded. Small, portable ultra-low temperature freezers can be purchased at vaccination centers, which could extend shelf life by up to six months, according to the dpa news agency.
As soon as framework conditions allow, the vaccines could also be distributed locally through the medical profession and pharmacies, according to the Health Ministry.
Where would the vaccine be stored?
The federal government expects a total of about 60 warehouse locations. Federal states must submit proposals before November 10. This could be barracks or clinics, for example. According to its own information, the Ministry of Health has not yet produced a summary. Bavaria has already announced that it will temporarily store the deliveries in nine secret locations. The country has commissioned ULT freezers for this. In Brandenburg, corona protection vaccines will initially be stored in the central police service and then sent to vaccination centers. The logistics are very “demanding,” said Health Minister Ursula Nonnemacher of the RBB. “The vaccine has to be protected.”
The Federal Ministry of Health asked the Bundeswehr for help to distribute the vaccine. This is especially true for the safe interim storage of the vaccine, according to the Ministry of Defense.
Are syringes and cannulas enough?
The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Health assumes that one syringe and two needles are required for each vaccine. Presumably two vaccines are needed to protect against Covid 19. In North Rhine-Westphalia, with around 18 million inhabitants, the Ministry of Health has ordered 2.6 million syringes and around 8.8 million needles. . In addition, according to the authorities, an order for around 18 million more syringes, including cannulas, was firmly agreed. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (1.6 million inhabitants) speaks of around 3.2 million syringes that would be needed to vaccinate the entire population. So far, the country has ordered material for some 500,000 cans. Bavaria has ordered 34 million syringes.
Who first?
One of the big questions remains: who will get the vaccine first? The German Ethics Council, the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences and the Permanent Commission for Vaccination (Stiko) have produced guidelines with recommendations. According to the position paper, priority should be given to vaccinating people with previous illnesses and the elderly.
The second group mentioned are employees of the health system such as hospital staff or geriatric nurses. The third group identified was employees of health and safety authorities, police, firefighters, teachers and educators. Prioritization should be set by policy makers, Stiko Chairman Thomas Mertens said. And that could lead to arguments.
The Ethics Council, the Vaccination Commission and Leopoldina want to refine their recommendations. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, this is not yet possible because the properties of the vaccine are not yet clear. “For example, if a vaccine is approved that works for the 45-50 age group, it doesn’t make sense to want to vaccinate those over 60 first.”
Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek announced an information and education campaign on corona vaccination. The federal government wants to rely on full transparency when it comes to fear of vaccines or side effects, he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine.” There should be no vaccination light.
And the cost?
Vaccinations must be available free of charge. The costs of establishing and organizing vaccination centers will be borne by the federal and state governments and by the funds of the compulsory health insurance and private health insurance. “In addition to vaccines, medical services and infrastructure costs must also be financed,” said Martin Litsch, chairman of the board of the Federal Association of Local Health Insurance General Funds (AOK), Germany’s publishing network. The Federal Ministry of Health declined to comment on possible costs for now. This also depends on the type of vaccine.
Are there enough doctors?
One of the main challenges, especially in rural regions, is likely to be finding enough medical staff for vaccination centers. Epidemiologist Rüdiger von Kries, who is a member of the Standing Commission on Vaccination of the Robert Koch Institute, said in Extra ARD. “The public health service is so small that it certainly can’t handle it.” Attempts will be made to attract other doctors, for example retired doctors. NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann also recently suggested that doctors be removed for this purpose.
Sources include: dpa / kna / epd
