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Not only was Jens Spahn irritated. Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (both CDUs) knew nothing about the early start of vaccination in his state on Saturday. He was only in the picture when the Federal Minister of Health informed him in a short message.
Haseloff said Sunday afternoon at the official start of the vaccination: “Here is the beginning. I can only take note of that. On the other hand, it is about vaccinating as quickly as possible in Saxony-Anhalt. “And:” I heard about the federal minister by SMS and was as surprised as he was. But I can only explain it in this way that the pressure has built up there to start as soon as possible. “
The official start of the corona vaccines should be this Sunday. But on Saturday, Edith Kwoizalla, 101, received the first of two doses of vaccine needed at a center for the elderly in Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt. Those responsible in the Harz district and the local administrator did not want to waste time on the dramatic situation. 40 of the 59 residents and 10 of the 40 employees had been vaccinated. “Everyone is fine,” said the facility’s operator, Tobias Krüger, on Sunday morning.
Haseloff visited Marthahaus Seniorenresidenz GmbH with 68 residents on Sunday together with Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister for Social Affairs, Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD). According to managing director Axel Peiler, only two residents did not want to be vaccinated. Staff disposition is significantly lower.
Vaccinations postponed for safety reasons
“Now it is up to everyone to participate,” Haseloff asked the citizens. He highlighted: “We need a high level of acceptance. Only if we can vaccinate a large part of the population in the coming weeks and months will we be able to use medical options to suppress relevant infections and fight the pandemic ”. A sufficient vaccine is also necessary.
But their transport can also pose a problem: in some areas of Bavaria, the start of vaccinations has been postponed for security reasons. The Augsburg district announced that there are doubts as to whether the required cold chain has been met. Other districts were also affected.
“The integrated cooling log shows that the temperature recorded during transport was initially three degrees Celsius and then minus one degree Celsius,” said Augsburg District Administrator Martin Sailer. There may have been a malfunction in the cooler. Therefore, it is not certain that “vaccination doses can be used safely”.
Additional checks should now clarify whether the vaccine was still frozen when it was delivered. In this case, the vaccinations scheduled for Sunday in homes for the elderly and elderly would be recovered on Monday. In any case, the safety of citizens has priority.
Biontech calms the counties
The vaccine from the German manufacturer Biontech and its American partner Pfizer normally has to be frozen to minus 70 degrees. Less cooling is also harmless for shorter periods of time. According to a report by Bayerischer Rundfunk, the district of Dillingen and other regions of the districts of Upper Franconia and Swabia were also affected by the uncertainties regarding the cooling.
Biontech believes that its corona vaccine is safe regardless of reported cold chain issues. “We informed the districts of Dillingen and Augsburg this morning that the temperature drift that was recorded has no effect on the quality of the vaccine,” a Biontech spokeswoman said Sunday.
