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Europe has launched a vaccination program that it hopes will end the coronavirus pandemic and allow a return to normal life, but Germany’s deployment has faced delays in some areas of the country.
The European Medicines Agency approved the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine on December 21 and the goal is for all adults to be vaccinated by the end of 2021.
European governments are promoting the vaccine as the continent’s best chance to return to normal life, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Vaccination is the lasting way out of the pandemic.”
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Saturday. “This vaccine is the decisive key to ending this pandemic … the key to reclaiming our lives.”
WWII veteran Emilie Repikova took her hit after Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis
The vaccine should be stored at very low temperatures of approximately -70 ° C, before being transported to distribution centers in specially designed refrigerated boxes filled with dry ice.
Once out of ultra-low temperature storage, the vaccine must be kept between 2 ° C and 8 ° C to remain effective for up to five days.
But several areas in the German state of Bavaria had vaccine delays on Sunday, as temperature trackers showed that 1,000 of the injections may not have stayed cool enough during transit.
In a statement, the Bavarian district of Lichtenfels said: “When reading the temperature recorders that were enclosed in the portable refrigerators, doubts arose about the fulfillment of the requirements of the cold chain.”
Medical staff found that the temperature in a vaccine transport cooler had risen to 15 ° C, which is above the manufacturers’ maximum of 8 ° C, a Lichtenfels spokesman said.
He said that 1,000 shots had been affected by the temperature problem and that the city and the districts of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach, Hof, Bayreuth and Wunsiedel in northern Bavaria were waiting to hear from BioNTech about whether the vaccine could still be used. .
Two men sit on chairs while they wait for their vaccination at the Arena Treptow vaccination center in Berlin.
EU nations have recorded at least 16 million coronavirus infections and more than 336,000 deaths, although the actual numbers are likely higher due to limited testing, particularly early in the pandemic.
Some countries have asked doctors and nurses to return from retirement to help in vaccination efforts, while some have trained people from other occupations to help.
The 27-nation bloc had planned a coordinated deployment on Sunday, but Hungary, Germany and Slovakia couldn’t wait and instead began vaccinating people on Saturday.
Hungarian soldiers carry the first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in Budapest
In Hungary, vaccinations started with front-line healthcare workers in Budapest hospitals.
In Germany, officials focused on residents of nursing homes, as the vaccine was ready to be distributed throughout the country.
Tobias Krueger, operator of a nursing home in the Saxony-Anhalt region of northeastern Germany, said: “Every day we wait is one day too many.”
The first person to be vaccinated in that home was Edith Kwoizalla, 101, and Krueger said 40 of the 59 residents of the home and 10 of the 40 workers wanted the vaccine.
The first person to receive the vaccine in Slovakia was an expert on infectious diseases, Vladimir Krcmery.
The 60-year-old man was vaccinated together with doctors at a hospital in the city of Nitra, described by the Minister of Health, Marek Krajci, as a “historic moment.”
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France received its first shipment of the vaccine on Saturday and said it would prioritize older people living in groups.
Urging people to be “proud” of the French healthcare system, President Emmanuel Macron tweeted to say that the jab was not mandatory, but that people should “have confidence in our researchers and doctors.”
And he added: “We are the land of the Enlightenment and Pasteur, reason and science must guide us.”
In Italy, five health workers were the first to receive the vaccine, and temporary solar-powered health pavilions will be built in the squares.
Italy has had the highest death toll in Europe with more than 71,000 deaths from the virus.
A team of health workers were the first Italians to receive the vaccine.
In Spain the first doses will be administered in a residence in the center of the city of Guadalajara.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was the first to receive the vaccine in the Czech Republic Sunday morning, ahead of the distribution of 9,750 doses across the country.
World War II veteran Emilie Repikova, 95, was the second to receive the jab.
In Poland, the first two people to be vaccinated on Sunday will be a nurse and a doctor at the Interior Ministry hospital in Warsaw, followed by medical workers from other hospitals.
The country’s prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said getting vaccinated was a patriotic duty.
In Bulgaria, the first person to be hit was Health Minister Kostadin Angelov, who promised a campaign to promote the benefits of the vaccine. Both Bulgaria and Poland have a high level of suspicion around vaccines.
Angelov said he couldn’t wait to see his 70-year-old father without fear of infecting him.
Germany distributes the vaccine to nursing homes
An 81-year-old nursing home resident became the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Croatia. Senior officials were in attendance when Branka Anicic received the vaccine on camera. She says it felt great to be the first in Croatia to receive the vaccine and urged others to do the same.
Portugal will create separate cold storage units to bring the vaccine to the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.
Meanwhile, a new variant of COVID-19 that has been found in all parts of the UK, has now been detected in France and Spain as well.
The new strain, called VUI-202012/01, is up to 70% more transmittable.
While experts are confident that the vaccine will work against this new variant, further testing will be necessary to be completely sure.
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