Karl Lauterbach (SPD) does not want to blame anyone for the vaccination misery in Germany - but he has three clear appeals to politicians.
Munich - “It is clear, it got off to a choppy start.
We now have to see that we make the best of it, ”says
SPD
* health expert Karl Lauterbach
about the
start of vaccination
in Germany.
He does not want to hold anyone responsible for the fact that far less
vaccine is
currently
available than is needed.
In
Bild.de he
proposes a three-step plan with which one could get out of the chaos.
"It may have been ordered a little differently than it would have been good, but the order via the EU is not objectionable in and of itself," said Lauterbach on the subject of
vaccine
shortages
*
.
But he has one clear point of criticism: “The EU only had a total of two billion dollars available for the orders.
In America, more than twelve billion dollars have been made available to buy vaccines. ”With more money, one could have ordered more, and capacities in
companies
like
Biontech and Pfizer
would have been increased, according to Lauterbach.
Lauterbach's vaccination strategy: emergency approval and postponement of the second dose
Three steps are necessary, Lauterbach continues.
"First you have to see that the
Astra Zeneca vaccine
, which is not perfect, but also a good vaccine, is also approved." He is also thinking of an emergency approval in Germany - because approval has not yet started in the EU .
"Secondly, you have to check whether you are not putting the first dose of the vaccine in the foreground and, especially with the
Biontech vaccine,
pushing the second dose to week 12." In view of the shortage of vaccines, this possibility had already been discussed by other experts - the point, however, is controversial among virologists and vaccine developers.
Worth reading and important objection from @florian_krammer to the later giving of the second vaccination dose, which I also advocated.
He fears the pressure for dangerous mutations, resistant to vaccines, could increase.
Unfortunately, this is a very controversial discussion among virologists ... https://t.co/VyvYpYBLAh
- Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) January 4, 2021
Lauterbach's third point: more vaccine needs to be produced
“I was always surprised that we in Germany are not working to ensure that more
vaccine
can be produced here,” Lauterbach adds as the next point.
A
production facility
for the
Biontech vaccine
is already being set up in Marburg.
But Lauterbach wants to think further: "In particular, the Moderna vaccine has to be produced more, because it is a
vaccine
that can also be
vaccinated
in practices and the complicated logistics of the vaccine centers do not suffice."
At the same time, Lauterbach pleads - in connection with the
Corona
*
summit - for a target incidence of 25. “Then we would have gained control once, until the situation eases again in April or May.” With an incidence of 50, everything is “on edge sewn ".
To go from 50 to 25, you have to
stay
in
lockdown
in about eight more days
.
(kat)
* Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network.
