Despite fear of side effects: two-thirds want to get vaccinated

Friday, December 25, 2020

Despite the fear of side effects
Two thirds want to get vaccinated

Probably the largest vaccination campaign in the country to date will begin in two days. A clear majority want to be immunized against the corona virus. However, more than half of those surveyed also fear side effects. Federal Health Minister Spahn wants to report again on Saturday.

According to a recent survey, around two-thirds of Germans want to get vaccinated against the corona virus. In a survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 32 percent of respondents stated that they wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Another 33 percent are determined to do so, but first want to wait and see the possible consequences of vaccination for others. 19 percent have decided not to get vaccinated, 16 percent are still undecided.

The largest vaccination campaign to date in Germany will begin next Sunday, and tens of millions of people are expected to be immunized. The vaccine arrives in individual federal states on the Saturday one day before kickoff. The federal government has several tens of thousands of cans of Biontech delivered to a total of 27 locations. From there they will be distributed to the approximately 440 vaccination centers.

First, people over the age of 80 should be vaccinated, as well as nurses and hospital staff who are at particular risk. The first doses are administered mainly by mobile vaccination teams in nursing homes and hospitals. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn will report on the vaccination campaign on Saturday at a press conference (11am) in Berlin. He has already prepared the population for possible initial problems: “At first it is going to shake up.”

AfD voters tend not to want to be vaccinated

According to the YouGov survey, willingness to vaccinate continuously increases with age. Of those 18 to 24 years old, 54 percent want to get vaccinated, compared to 71 percent of those 55 and older. Among AfD voters, the willingness to vaccinate 51 percent is significantly lower than among supporters of all other parties represented in the Bundestag. It is particularly high among Green voters at 82 percent. A clear majority of 57 percent also fear the side effects of the vaccine. Only a third do not have those fears. 10 percent did not provide any information.

According to Kiel infection doctor Professor Helmut Fickenscher, the start of vaccination on Sunday will not have a significant impact on the course of the pandemic at the moment. “This is simply because we have too many people to vaccinate and we will not have enough vaccines available for a long time,” said Fickenscher of the German news agency. He is Director of the Institute for Infection Medicine at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) and President of the German Association for the Fight Against Viral Diseases.

Spahn relies on more approvals

According to Fickenscher, a favorable development of the crown in 2021 depends on whether the majority of the population is largely vaccinated before winter 2021/22, either 60 or 80 percent. By the end of March, between 11 and 12 million doses of vaccines should be available. Since the preparation has to be administered twice, this amount would be sufficient for approximately 5.5 to 6 million people. Spahn assumes that he will be able to make a “vaccination offer” to all citizens in Germany for the summer, provided other preparations are approved.

The number of infections in Germany initially remained high at Christmas. Health authorities reported 25,533 new infections in 24 hours to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Friday. In addition, 412 deaths were recorded. However, the figures are only partially comparable with the values ​​of the previous week. The RKI expects fewer tests and fewer reports from health authorities during the holidays. Last Friday, with 33,777 new infections, a peak was recorded, but this included 3,500 late reports. The peak of 952 corona-related deaths was reached on December 16.