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Health Minister Spahn and RKI chief Wieler answered questions about vaccination. It is not possible to choose the vaccine, the exit from the pandemic has begun, Spahn said.
Anyone who is offered a Covid-19 vaccine by the state cannot initially choose the vaccine administered. Making such a selection is not possible “for the moment and foreseeable” due to the current shortage, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said in an online discussion.
The president of the Permanent Commission on Vaccination, Thomas Mertens, said that the two vaccines from BioNTech and Moderna, which have so far been approved in Europe, are “equivalent in efficacy and safety.” It is now too early to make relevant statements for other vaccines for which the approval process has not yet been completed.
Half a million people vaccinated
Since vaccination began in Germany in late December, more than half a million people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 for the first time, according to Spahn. This was the beginning of the “exit from the pandemic”. “There are more every day, the processes are getting better,” Spahn said.
The Health Minister also claimed that the first delivery of the Moderna vaccine would go to the federal states on Tuesday. According to the EU Medicines Agency EMA, European approval is also possible “quickly” for the possible third vaccine from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, according to Spahn.
According to experts, to ensure adequate protection against Covid-19, the vaccine must be administered twice, with an interval of at least three (at BioNTech) to four (Moderna) weeks. Otherwise, according to Mertens, there is not only insufficient protection for those affected. There is also concern that this could encourage the development of mutations in the virus that are immune to the vaccine.
RKI warns of false reports
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), masks, distance and other protective measures against the spread of the coronavirus have yet to be observed despite the start of vaccination. This shows a look at how many people infected with the virus die each day, RKI President Lothar Wieler said. Germany is still in a “difficult situation”.
In view of the previously rather low willingness of medical staff to get vaccinated, Wieler urged them to use all the information provided by state health authorities and, if in doubt, to inquire there as well. “I keep hearing that some nurses fear vaccines will make them sterile. This is just a hoax.”
24,700 new infections and more than 1,000 deaths
Currently, the very elderly, as well as residents and employees of nursing homes and nursing homes, as well as medical personnel at particularly high risk are vaccinated. The second group includes people between the ages of 75 and 79. According to the recommendation of the vaccination commission, which was updated on Friday, teachers belong to group with priority four, employees in retail and people between 60 and 64 years old belong to group five.
The RKI reported 24,694 new infections with the coronavirus in one day. The total number of confirmed corona infections since the start of the pandemic in Germany increased to 1,891,581. Additionally, 1083 virus-related deaths were counted in 24 hours. The total number of registered corona deaths increased to 39,878. The seven-day incidence is 153.9. The value is the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants during this period.
