Germany’s largest COVID-19 jab site ready to go

HAMBURG: Queuing spaces are already marked on the way to the 64 miniature medical offices where thousands of people per day will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Hamburg.

It only takes the green light from the European Union for Germany’s largest vaccination center to spring into action, the new team ready in the vast congress center of the northern port city.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is expected to rule on Monday (December 21), the final step before Brussels can give the go-ahead, and Germany hopes to start vaccinating on December 27.

“We are ready. The procedures have been tested … the only thing we need now is the vaccine,” says Melanie Leonhard, the city’s health and social affairs senator.

Hamburg, the second largest city in Germany with 2 million inhabitants, has opted for a large-scale solution to get the vaccine out as quickly as possible.

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Spread over 11,000 m2, the Conference Center spaces will be able to attend 7,000 daily vaccinations, with a large staff of doctors and health personnel supervised by six senior doctors.

Vaccination will be voluntary in Hamburg and in the more than 400 sites spread over the 80 million inhabitants of the country.

Those who opt for the jab will need about an hour to go through the registration desk and enter one of the injection cubicles, with a rest stop afterward where they will be watched for side effects or allergic reactions.

The city has also hired translators and interpreters to overcome language barriers, while there will be a quick queue for people with less mobility.

“CREATE TRUST”

To reduce the risks of spreading the virus in the vaccination center itself, the temperature of the visitors will be taken before entering and the use of masks and distance will be required once inside.

“We want to build trust among the public … let them know that this is serious and really professional,” says Walter Plassmann, director of the Hamburg federation of doctors, which runs the center.

Health Senator Leonhard notes that each cubicle “looks like an exam room” in a daily medical practice.

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As in other parts of Europe and around the world, suspicions and unfounded conspiracy theories that have surfaced online about vaccines in Germany.

But Dirk Heinrich, one of 1,400 doctors who have volunteered to vaccinate his colleagues in Hamburg, has seen first-hand what the virus can do.

“I have already seen people with COVID-19 in my practice and unfortunately some have died,” said the ear, nose and throat doctor, who was wearing a white sweatshirt with the slogan “Hamburg is vaccinating.”

The virus “is a real disaster and the vaccine is the only possibility to end it,” adds Heinrich.

As in other parts of the world, the extremely low temperatures necessary to preserve the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, around -70 degrees Celsius, are causing a headache for the Hamburg authorities.

READ: Germany enters tougher lockdown as virus deaths hit new record

“There are very, very complicated conditions for handling the vaccine,” acknowledges Plassmann, adding that “we have not yet been able to test” each step.

Germany is also expecting a slow start to its vaccination campaign, with only 400,000 doses initially scheduled for delivery, which likely means only a few thousand will make it to Hamburg.

Only people in the highest risk categories will receive their two injections in the first few weeks.

And those over 80 will not need to visit the vaccination center, with mobile teams that are deployed around Hamburg to inject at home or in residences.

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