Rush for flu vaccine: Bavarian district reports bottlenecks - disadvantage for private patients

The demand for the flu vaccine has risen sharply this year due to the corona pandemic.

There are already bottlenecks in the district of Ebersberg.

• Because of the corona pandemic, the demand for flu vaccinations is high this year.

• In the district of Ebersberg, the vaccine is already slowly becoming scarce.

• This is a disadvantage, especially for private patients.

District

- There is much more demand for flu vaccinations than in previous years, report pharmacies and doctors from the district.

Hence there are bottlenecks and delays.

Many patients are waiting for the vaccination - some in vain.

Daniela Suhle, from the Sankt Ulrich pharmacy in Pliening explains that the

had to

indicate

the order quantities in the

and

as early as February

.

"

was not yet a big issue and the estimated need was accordingly lower," she says.

According to Dr.

Katja Tritzschler, family doctor from Moosach, the

has been

increasing

since mid-September, when the

still being delivered.

For

Tritzschler usually advises only people from

.

In other words, people aged 60 and over, with a weakened

or

.

But this year, more healthy, younger patients and people who normally did not get vaccinated are coming in, the doctor notes.

Flu vaccination in the district of Ebersberg: private patients have to wait a long time

For organizational reasons,

have to

get

the

from the

with a prescription

.

They in particular have to

accept

long

and reservations

, explains pharmacist Suhre.

"Everything about bestelltem

arrived on time and was completely within the last few weeks away," she says.

She didn't expect that.

Pharmacist Merlin Zakrzewski from the Hohenlinden forest pharmacy also notes: “We are running at full speed.” The companies cannot keep up with deliveries.

There are more and more delays.

Flu vaccination because of corona fear: private patients sometimes at a disadvantage

Dr.

Marc Block from Zorneding, internist, general practitioner and during the

medical

doctor

for the district, explains the demand as follows: Because of

is

great

fear of

infections.

“There is no evidence or experience for this, but the fear is there,” says Block.

The demand for pneumococcal vaccinations, i.e. against

, has also increased.

The doctor usually recommends this vaccination only for

Vaccination recommendation only for high-risk patients: doctor gives tips on protection in the cold season

Doctors in Germany have ordered

around 25 million

for this year.

These are produced and delivered by the companies and are “inoculated”, according to the Zornedingen doctor.

However, around 40 million people nationwide belong to a

In the

district

, too, there will probably be fewer

than people who the

would advise

to use the

.

He predicts that no further deliveries are to be expected for the time being: "If they are gone, nothing will follow this year".

Thanks to the

the risk of infection with flu is significantly lower than usual, according to Block.

He expects less classic flu than in previous years, because the

subsided noticeably as early as spring 2020

.

Because people started

wearing

and being more hygienic, he explains.

This is also stated by the pharmacist Zakrzewski from Hohenlinden: "The need for

is - at least so far - lower than in previous years." The pharmacists and doctors agree that everyone gets through the cold season as healthy as possible:

,

and

adhere

to the

.

Raffael Scherer