[ad_1]
No one was faster than Germany, which expects to have the covid-19 vaccination centers ready to operate by mid-December. There they can begin to be administered as soon as they have the green light from the European health authorities. The rest of the European countries are still beginning their first steps.
“I would rather have an immunization center ready to idle for several days than a licensed vaccine without being able to administer it,” said Health Minister Jens Spahn. Each German federal state is responsible for identifying places where centers for administering vaccines can be established and places to store them. But the federal government will pay for the vaccines and participate in financing the vaccination centers.
Three priority groups have been identified, says the French newspaper The world: “People at significant risk of developing a serious or fatal form of the disease, due to age or poor health”; “Nursing personnel or nursing home aides, who serve the most vulnerable population” and, finally, “people who must be protected because they occupy important functions for the rest of society and will be difficult to replace.” This group includes those who work in “health, members of the police and security services, firefighters and teachers.”
The document that defines these priority groups was delivered on November 9 by experts from the three institutions invited by the Government to comment: the German Council of Ethics, the Leopoldine Academy of Sciences and the Standing Committee on Vaccination of the Robert Koch Institute of Public Health . . Establishing priorities for access to vaccines will be essential, recognized the German Health Minister: “At first, but also in the first weeks and perhaps months, it is very possible that there are not enough doses for everyone who wants to be vaccinated,” he warned .
Use the public network
Despite this difficulty, the Government of Spain – one of the countries most traumatized by the pandemic in Europe – has promised that a large part of the country will be vaccinated against the new coronavirus by the summer of 2021. The plan will be presented this Tuesday at the Council of Ministers , but what Pedro Sánchez has already said is that vaccines must be distributed through 13,000 vaccination centers, a figure that coincides with the number of health centers and health services offices in the Spanish autonomous communities, points out the The country.
Immunization, through vaccines purchased by the European Union, 10% of which will be reserved for Spain, says the newspaper The newspaper – It should start in January and will be voluntary.
France also plans to use the national health system to distribute covid-19 vaccines in early 2021, but the High Health Authority should not reveal its plans until mid-December. At this point, it is only known that healthcare professionals and the elderly or frail will be considered a priority.
“The organization’s plan should be simple, so that people can get vaccinated nearby, at their doctor or at the workplace. Pharmacists vaccinate against the flu, but can they also vaccinate against the coronavirus? ”Asked Daniel Floret, vice president of the Vaccination Technical Committee. radio Europe 1.
However, a step has already been taken: 50 super freezers with a cold capacity of down to minus 80 degrees Celsius have been purchased to hold vaccines like those from BioNtech-Pfizer, according to Europe 1.
The British Government also hopes to be able to vaccinate medical personnel and the most vulnerable people in early December. Matt Hancock, the British Health Minister, says that if the vaccines are approved by the Medicines and Medical Products Regulatory Agency, especially Pfizer-BioNtech, the way is open. “The National Health Service must be ready, as of December 1,” he declared. This vaccine is being produced in Puurs, Belgium; from there to the UK is a little jump.
The covid-19 case tracking operation relied on outsourcing to private companies and resulted in the discovery of delays in reporting 16,000 covid-19 cases in early October. So this time, the vaccination will be organized by hospitals and primary care clinics. The army must provide logistical support for transportation. And the Ministry of Health issued a circular saying that it would be desirable to maintain the rate of 975 vaccine injections per week, reports the The world.
But the end of the transition period after Brexit, later this year, and the final exit from the Common Market, on January 1, 2020, raise concerns about the flow of vaccines. You can imagine endless lines of trucks in Dover … Hancock tries to project safety: “We transport the vaccine by plane. We have a plan for all eventualities ”, he assured.
