[ad_1]
When will the first citizens be vaccinated?
Joachim Müller-Jung
Editor of the characteristics section, responsible for the “Nature and science” section.
In Britain this Tuesday, in the rest of Europe it will take a few more weeks. The mRNA vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer was approved by the national regulatory authority in Great Britain due to the difficult infection situation with the highest mortality rates on the continent and even before all available and also accessible data had been verified. the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Russia and China had begun vaccinations with their own corona vaccines in millions of selected citizens before or during the usual phase 3 clearance studies.
The Biontech / Pfizer vaccine should also be approved in Germany before the end of the year; the scientific committee responsible for the EMA will make a decision on December 29. According to the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (CDU), the first citizens should be vaccinated “at the end of the year”. This week, on December 10, the top vaccination experts from the US FDA announced the green light for the start of the vaccination campaign. The mRNA vaccines developed by the American manufacturer Moderna will also receive conditional approval and will be administered in Europe, such as the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine, starting early next year. Regular market approval is only possible after the two-year study period recorded in the approval application has been completed.
What obstacles still need to be overcome in this country?
Currently there are discussions about who will decide politically on the distribution of the first doses of vaccine. The ruling coalition had stipulated by law that the federal government can set the rules for corona vaccination by ordinance. Meanwhile, the Bundestag is required to formally approve the prioritization. “Tests” are already underway at vaccination centers, Spahn said over the weekend. The mobile vaccination teams, which are also planned, will be organizationally linked to the vaccination centers. By the end of March, Spahn expects eleven million cans from Biontech / Pfizer alone. According to the Federal Ministry, there are a total of five candidates who would be admitted with “some probability” in the middle of the year. This also includes products from Curevac in Tübingen, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Millions of German citizens could, if all goes well, be immune to vaccines from the spring, according to the ministry. This assumes that the logistics of vaccine delivery work and hackers with supply chain attacks are also unsuccessful.
Who will get vaccinated first?
According to the recommendations of the experts and the ideas of the government, when the vaccine doses are initially adjusted, the risk groups are the first to act: the elderly and the sick with risk factors, as well as the employees of the health service. health and in key areas of general interest. This is in accordance with the plans of most states. In fact, there are groups like those over seventy with a 100 times greater risk of developing severe Covid-19. There is no mandatory vaccination or obligation. As the “primary criterion” for order, Spahn named age. Since many of those affected are less mobile and more difficult to reach, the vaccines are also given in parallel. Anyone who has previous illnesses needs a certificate from their family doctor or specialist. In the provisional vaccination plan for the federal capital Berlin, which was unveiled over the weekend, supermarket employees should also be prioritized as systemically relevant.
