[ad_1]
FRANKFURT – Germany’s coronavirus vaccination campaign faced delays in several cities on Sunday after medical staff found possible irregularities in the cooling of the injection produced by BioNTech and Pfizer.
The European Union launched a massive COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday with retirees and doctors lining up to receive the first vaccines to stop a pandemic that has crippled economies and claimed more than 1.7 million lives across the world. the world.
“When reading the temperature recorders that were enclosed in the portable refrigerators, doubts were raised about the fulfillment of the cold chain requirements,” the District Office of Lichtenfels, in the north of Germany’s largest state, said in a statement. , Bavaria.
The Pfizer vaccine, which uses new mRNA technology, must be stored at ultra-low temperatures of approximately -70 degrees Celsius (-112 ° F) to remain effective before it is shipped to distribution centers.
Pfizer has designed special shipping containers filled with dry ice to prevent the vaccine from spoiling while in transit. The injections can be stored in an ultra-low temperature freezer for up to six months, or for five days between 2 ° C and 8 ° C, a type of refrigeration commonly available in hospitals.
In addition to Lichtenfels, the northern Bavarian cities of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach, Hof, Bayreuth and Wunsiedel also refrained from inoculating people after uncertainty arose as to whether the cold chain had been maintained.
“Vaccination against the coronavirus is not about who vaccinates faster or who gives more doses. Safety and conscientious work for the benefit of the population have the highest priority, ”said Oliver Baer, district administrator for the Hof district.
Similar problems also delayed the vaccination campaign in the southern Bavarian city of Augsburg, the Merkur newspaper reported.
Germany’s vaccination campaign officially began on Sunday with the vaccination of nursing home residents. The federal government plans to distribute more than 1.3 million doses to local health authorities by the end of this year and around 700,000 a week starting in January.
The vaccines will be free and available to everyone beginning in mid-2021 once priority groups are expected to have finished being inoculated.
“This makes us proud and, above all, trusts that we can overcome this pandemic, because vaccination paves the way out of the crisis,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a tweet.
For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.
What you need to know about the coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
