At the age of 20, Liam Klages is likely to be the youngest head of a vaccination center in Germany.
How it came about and what goals he set himself: The editorial team asked.
Liam Klages (20) is a rescue worker, firefighter, business administration student and head of the vaccination center in Ebersberg.
So far, operations there have been stable and the patients are satisfied.
Because of the shortage of vaccines, the vaccination center boss is repeatedly confronted with attempted fraud.
District
- Liam Klages watches with crossed arms as the three and a half ton
vault door
closes with a discreet whirring sound.
He nods.
Then he says: “
Not
a single
dose of vaccine is
wasted here.
It won't happen to me. ”The 20-year-old from Pullach im Isar Valley is the boss of the
Ebersberg Corona Vaccination Center
- and thus also the custodian of the coveted, rare vaccine that
is stored
in the basement of the former
savings bank building
behind thick steel.
Only three people know the code, and to be on the safe side, the 16-digit number combination is also
stored
in a sealed envelope in the
district
office.
After thawing at five degrees, the active ingredient in ampoules the size of a finger-joint can be kept for five days, 120 hours.
In a standard refrigerator.
Klages' job is to get him in the right upper arms until then.
“A mammoth task,” he says. But he also says: “Up to now, no one has known how to set up a
vaccination center
.” Of course, the
20-year-old is
repeatedly asked about his
age
.
At 20 Corona vaccination center boss: Of course, his age is always an issue
Doubts about his
suitability and experience are
then likely to resonate
.
Especially since externally, a few years less under his belt would also be taken from him.
That was already the case when, at 15
, he wanted to do more
in the
youth fire brigade
than he was allowed to.
About the fact that he is usually much, much younger than the others around him, he says: “I have to compensate for that with hard work, flexibility and commitment.” A noticeable feature of Klages: He speaks
ready for the press
, is
someone
who prepares himself.
The alarm clock rings at 5:30 a.m. every day, he says.
An hour later, he unlocks the vaccination center and first turns on the coffee machine.
“Nothing works here without coffee.” He tidies up the
doctor's room
, counts and portions the
vaccine
, and assigns the
staff
.
When the
employees
arrive at a quarter to eight, the day has already been planned.
In the morning and before the end of the day there is a speech about what was and what will be.
As I said: Klages is someone who is preparing.
Vaccination Center Ebersberg: So far, operations have been running - most of the patients are satisfied
So far the shop is running.
This is not just what the boss in the house says, the
district office
also says it
, and this is what the people who saunter off on
Sparkassenplatz
after the vaccination say
.
Most of them seem satisfied with the
organization
on site and feel that they are in good hands.
The
operating company
Tresec from Taufkirchen near Munich was a three-man company before it was awarded the contract for the
vaccination center
;
Klages and the two managing directors are good friends.
They now employ around
90 people
- from doctors to 450 euro jobbers.
From a three-man company with friends to an employer for around 90 employees
The three had previously
advised
other companies
on
data protection, occupational medicine and occupational safety.
Then suddenly there was a pandemic and they advised companies that set up corona test centers in one fell swoop last spring and had to find the staff to do so.
“The
experience
helped us,” says Klages.
When the
tender
for the operation of the
Ebersberg vaccination center
became public, the company decided to get involved.
Klages worked out an offer and Tresec won the bid.
“We had the
confidence
to create something big,” he says.
A typical Liam Klages sentence.
And of course he doesn't forget to praise his contract partner, he's prepared: “In
Ebersberg
, the
overall concept was right
,” he says.
"We have great support from the district office."
Ambulance and fire services: Klages knows the industry
The
20-year-old did not
learn how to
organize
and communicate while
studying business administration
, he is in his fifth semester, and at the moment he is letting it rest and has more urgent things to do.
The Pullacher actually comes from the
rescue service
, is a paramedic, respirator and turntable ladder machinist for the Pullach
fire brigade
.
In his social media profile picture, he is in a fire department uniform next to an emergency doctor's car.
“Combining work and calling” is what he calls what he does.
For the private rescue service MKT helped organize the large-scale disaster exercises with hundreds of participants, which have already taken place several times near Lampferding (Rosenheim district) on the southern border of the district.
For this he has already carted the scenery for a
simulated plane crash
from Austria
between two high school exams
.
“I try to prove to everyone that age doesn't matter,” he says.
Before he ever wants to start his own company, Klages promises to do all he can to ensure that the vaccination campaign in
the Ebersberg district
goes as well as it can.
"Right now I couldn't imagine anything better," he says of the job as head of the vaccination center
- and sounds like 20 for once.
Sought-after vaccine: The vaccination center in Ebersberg experiences attempts at fraud almost every day
That is over when he talks about the hardships posed by the
vaccine
shortage.
About the
fears
that some
patients
bring
to the
vaccination center
.
About the many people who
come
without an
appointment
and whom he has to send away.
About the two or three specialists a day who lied to the hotline about age or eligibility and then flashed them off on site.
So far, no one has offered him money for a preferred vaccination.
“
Priceless,
” says Klages dryly when asked at what price he would be weak.
He had sworn to use the rare
vaccine
responsibly
and religiously to
adhere to
the prescribed
sequence
.
This includes having himself vaccinated - he is a top priority because of his job.
But no
favors
.
Liam Klages promises: "I wouldn't even vaccinate my mother."
All news from the Ebersberg district at the Ebersberger Zeitung.
You can read the latest developments on the coronavirus in our topic ticker.
Ebersberg newsletter:
Everything from your region!
Our brand new Ebersberg newsletter informs you regularly about all the important stories from the Ebersberg region - including all the news about the corona crisis in your community.
Sign up here.
