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According to a media report, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) was surprised by the unauthorized early start of vaccination in the Harz district. There, the 101-year-old resident of the house, Edith Kwoizalla, was the first person in Germany to be vaccinated against the corona virus on Saturday. Actually, vaccinations throughout Germany should start on Sunday.
Spahn’s spokesman told “Bild am Sonntag”: “Minister Spahn wishes Edith Kwoizalla all the best and is happy with the first corona vaccinated in Germany. This is an important first step in getting out of this pandemic. However, we had agreed with all the EU partner countries and with the 16 federal states to deliver everyone on Saturday and start vaccinations together from Sunday. ”
“Every day we wait is one more day”
In addition to Edith Kwoizalla, around 40 other residents were vaccinated at the Halberstadt center for the elderly in Saxony-Anhalt. Ten nurses were also vaccinated. The operator of the retirement home, Tobias Krüger, obviously didn’t want to waste time. “Every day we wait is one day too many,” he said. The district office had previously asked if everything was ready at home.
Vaccinations are supposed to officially begin in all federal states on Sunday, several tens of thousands of doses of vaccines were delivered on Saturday. They are distributed to vaccination centers and mobile teams by the responsible state authorities. First, people over 80 years of age should be vaccinated, as well as nurses and hospital staff who are at special risk.
Health Minister Jens Spahn called for a “national show of force” to immunize as many people as possible against the corona virus. “This vaccine is the key to beating this pandemic. He is the key so that we can get our lives back, ”said the CDU politician in Berlin.
At the Halberstadt senior center, two-thirds of 59 residents opted for vaccination and a quarter of 40 employees. The local administrator Krüger was also among them. He thinks vaccination makes sense. “But I also understand the concerns.” On January 15, in just under three weeks, residents will be vaccinated a second time. This guarantees the full efficacy of the vaccine from the Mainz company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer.
“Those who participate save lives”
Under the slogan “Sleeves up”, the federal government specifically promotes participation in the vaccination campaign. To stop the pandemic, experts estimate that around 60 to 70 percent of the German population would have to be vaccinated. “We want to vaccinate so many people that the virus no longer has a chance, in Germany and in Europe,” Spahn said. Every more vaccination means fewer infections and fewer deaths. “If you participate, you save lives.”
1.3 million doses of vaccine will be delivered before the end of the year. By the end of March it should exceed ten million. And by the middle of next year, Spahn wants to be able to make an offer to everyone who wants to get vaccinated.
The Health Minister also prepared the population for the fact that, given the size of the campaign, things may not go well. “It will shake at one point or another, that’s completely normal.”
Spahn called on the younger generation to stand in solidarity with the elderly and the weak, who now need the vaccine more urgently. And he gave hope that the pandemic can be overcome within the next year: “Autumn and winter and also Christmas next year should no longer be characterized by this pandemic.”
“Too little vaccine”
The German Association of Cities, however, dampened expectations. “It has been started, but the specter of the dangerous corona virus is not over yet,” City Council Speaker Burkhard Jung (SPD) told the Funke media group newspapers. The infection situation remains worrying today and the time for mass vaccination has not yet come. “Initially there is very little vaccine for that,” said Jung, who is also the mayor of Leipzig.
The first corona infection in Germany was known on January 27, 2020. Since then, more than 1.6 million infections have been recorded. According to the Robert Koch Institute, 29,422 infected people had died in Germany as of Saturday.
