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Preparations for corona vaccines are in full swing. The first doses of vaccine are distributed throughout Europe. Health Minister Spahn sees Germany well armed, although many have to be patient.
According to Health Minister Jens Spahn, Germany is well prepared for the largest vaccination campaign in the country’s history. “The vaccination centers are ready to go, the vaccination teams are in place,” said the CDU politician. The vaccine is “the key to beating this pandemic. It is the key to getting our lives back,” Spahn said. “This news should give us courage.” At the same time, he made it clear that the coronavirus has not yet been defeated with the start of the vaccination campaign. “We will need a lot of patience to put this pandemic behind us.”
Spahn agreed with citizens that given the size of the campaign, things may not work out right away. “It will shake at one point or another, that’s completely normal.” The Health Minister said he was confident that with the approval of more vaccines, vaccination in the area could begin as of mid-2021.
In addition to the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer, the drug from the American company Moderna also plays a role, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) plans to decide on its approval before January 6. The minister emphasized that vaccination continues to be an offer, free and voluntary. However, the aim is to vaccinate so many people “that the virus no longer has a chance in Germany and Europe.” Every more vaccination means fewer infections and fewer deaths.
“Younger and healthier people have to be patient”
Corona vaccines should start in Germany on Sunday. At the same time that vaccination begins at the national level, the Ministry of Health launches the awareness campaign “Sleeves up”. The vaccine paves the way out of the pandemic, Spahn said. “Autumn and winter and also Christmas next year should no longer be characterized by this pandemic.”
According to a legal order from Spahn’s ministry, the very old are vaccinated first because they are often seriously ill, as are medical and nursing staff who are at high risk of becoming infected. Only then are other population groups gradually vaccinated. This also means that “the youngest and healthiest have to be patient,” Spahn said. They would have to keep reducing their contacts.
Vaccines should be administered initially in special centers or by mobile teams, also to ensure prioritization. The federal states organize appointments. Afterwards, the vaccines will be available in doctors’ offices. The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, criticized the national communication of the vaccination campaign. It was “fatal” that the federal and state governments did not agree on a uniform approach, he told the epd news agency. For example, patient number 116117 is not used uniformly. The websites and apps are also different by region. “Some state governments rely on writing directly to their citizens. For others, it is not yet clear how people should be notified.”
Distribution has started
In the morning, the first doses of the vaccine arrived in the individual federal states. In the most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 9,750 cans were initially delivered and taken to a secret central warehouse. Prime Minister Armin Laschet said this was “an important moment of trust.” With the delivery of the vaccine, there is “hope of a normal life as we knew it before the virus.”
In Bavaria, the Minister of the Interior, Joachim Herrmann, and the Minister of Health, Melanie Huml, received the delivery in Erlangen. It was half of the first 9,750 doses of vaccines destined for the Free State, Huml said. The rest should arrive in Munich. The vaccine will be distributed regionally from Munich and Erlangen and supplied to the 99 vaccination centers in Bavaria. On Sunday, the first mobile vaccination teams should be deployed to vaccinate mainly the elderly, nursing homes and hospitals.
The ministries of social affairs of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt also announced the arrival of the deliveries. In Thuringia, a logistics company took the vaccine in refrigerated transport and accompanied by the police to a place that was not specified for storage. The nearly 10,000 doses of vaccine would initially be stored at minus 70 degrees. Berlin Health Senator Dilek Kalayci tweeted that the vaccine had also reached Berlin. In other federal states as well, preparations to distribute the vaccine were in full swing. According to Spahn, more deliveries will be made on Monday.
Von der Leyen gives hope to normality
The first vaccine against Covid-19 was also delivered in other countries of the European Union. Spahn spoke of a “hopeful day for Europe”. It was deliberately decided to take a European approach to vaccination and not do it only at the national level with emergency approval like other countries.
The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expected more normality next year, shortly before the start of vaccination across the EU. “The vaccines will help us gradually return to our normal life,” he said in a video posted on Twitter. As soon as enough people have been vaccinated, you can start traveling again, reunite with friends and family, and spend the holidays normally. “But until then we have to be careful.”
Tens of thousands of cans in the EU
The vaccine should be available in all 27 EU countries at the same time. “And people start vaccinating in Athens, Rome, Helsinki, Sofia, wherever,” von der Leyen said. The European Immunization Days are a moving moment of unity and a success story in Europe. More vaccines will be available soon. “Let’s make 2021 our year of European recovery and hope.”
In Italy, the first doses of the preparation reached their destination in Rome with military escort. The Defense Ministry confirmed that the transporter arrived at a Carabinieri barracks in the north of the capital on Friday night. The first doses of vaccination were also delivered in Austria; They came to the country from Belgium via Germany. The approximately 10,000 cans were brought to a warehouse in Vienna from the border crossing at Suben in Upper Austria with police escort, authorities said. The vaccine has now also reached Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
