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Around ten months after the outbreak of the corona pandemic in Europe, Germany and the rest of the European Union countries want to start the first vaccinations against the virus shortly before the turn of the year.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) announced the details on Friday morning.
Vaccination regulates, among other things, to whom and when the vaccination offer is made. “We cannot make this offer to everyone at the start of vaccination because there is very little vaccine,” Spahn said. Firstly, “as of today, we are assuming between 11 and 13 million doses of vaccine in the first quarter,” said the minister. When using them, priority should be given.
Under Spahn’s plan, people who should get vaccinated first fall into three groups. It begins with those for whom the protection of vaccination provides health and additional years of life. “Now we are starting with those over 80, the very old, those who need care and those who care for them.” It must “continue to ask all other citizens for patience,” Spahn said.
“Protecting the weakest is the first objective of our vaccination campaign,” says Spahn. This will take a month or two. Only then can you think about expanding the offer step by step. “That means for all of us: the winter will be long.”
The three groups look like this:
- To the first category The “top priority” also includes medical personnel in intensive care units, emergency rooms, ambulance services, and ambulatory care personnel.
- To the second category This includes people over the age of 70, people with dementia, people with trisomy 21 and transplant patients, as well as residents of accommodation for the homeless or asylum seekers and close contacts for those in need of care.
- The third category includes people over 60, chronically ill, people “in positions of special relevance in state institutions”, as well as educators, teachers and employees of the retail trade.
The prioritization sparks criticism, even beforehand there were demands for consideration from other population groups such as teachers, police officers and others.
The president of Federal Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, came out in favor of vaccinating general practitioners at an early stage. “Not only do they treat large numbers of high-risk patients, they are also in the front row when it comes to caring for those infected with corona. However, they are still lower on the priority list for vaccines, “said Reinhardt of the” Rheinische Post. ” That is risky to deal with the pandemic, “because the practices form an important protective barrier for clinics that are already overloaded.” Spahn said, “I can tell the doctors that we want to vaccinate them as soon as possible.” But above all, it is about vaccinating those who are at particularly high risk and who, in some cases, cannot protect themselves. It is not about appreciation or lack of appreciation, but rather about protecting those most in need of protection.
the German Foundation for Patient Protection demanded that Spahn should put relatives they care on the same level of priority as people in need of care, board member Eugen Brysch said on Friday in Dortmund. “This equates nursing staff with the nursing professions. This also makes practical sense, because family caregivers often bring very old people to vaccination centers. “
Similarly, patients who are heavily ventilated, seriously ill and cared for at home should be given a priority level of 1, Brysch demanded. “It is irresponsible that this small but very burdened group should not be vaccinated until the summer.”
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FDP Secretary General Volker Wissing criticizes the federal government for the fact that the vaccination strategy is determined by an ordinance and not by a law discussed in the Bundestag. “Our constitution says that essential questions of fundamental rights must be decided by parliament. For me, this is clearly an essential question of fundamental rights,” Wissing said on Friday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. A Bundestag consultation would not have meant a longer delay in starting vaccination, Wissing said.
Spahn emphasizes: Blocking is one thing; more caution is also required in private life
Spahn stressed once again that in addition to all public measures in the context of the confinement, the greatest caution is required in private: wear a mask, keep your distance, reduce contacts. The numbers developed dramatically. “We have to break this dynamic,” Spahn said. The possibility of vaccination shows: “There is hope.” But vaccination, as the Minister of Health made clear, does not prevent citizens from complying with hygiene standards.
The plan for the next few days looks like this: Following the expected approval recommendation for the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine by the EMA on Monday (December 21), the EU Commission wants to decide on approval on Wednesday.
According to Spahn, the responsible Paul Ehrlich Institute has to verify, approve and finally deliver the vaccine batches. That also explains the time until December 27, the minister said.
Merkel is “very proud” of the researchers
The federal government is “very proud” that there are researchers like you in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) said Thursday in a video conversation with Biontech founders Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci. Sahin said: “Our employees will work during Christmas to make it really possible for the vaccine to reach all countries.” It is already being used in the UK and the US.
Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) again campaigned for confidence in vaccines. In the video conference with the founders of Biontech, he said in the video conference with the founders of Biontech, no concessions were made on the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. SPD health expert Sabine Dittmar expressed hope in the Bundestag that 1.5 million people in Germany could be vaccinated by February.
The situation in German clinics remains tense. The number of corona patients in intensive care units rose to 4,856-20 more than the previous day, as the daily report of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (Divi) showed on Thursday. Therefore, 57 percent of them are invasively ventilated. As of early December, the number of Covid-19 cases treated in intensive care units was still below 4,000. (Tsp, with agencies)
