Icon: enlarge
Schleswig-Holstein alone is expected to provide 80,000 doses for hospital staff
Photo: Sebastian Condrea / Getty Images
Hospital staff in Germany could possibly be vaccinated against Covid-19 from mid-December.
Even if no substance has yet been approved, clinics should already plan possible vaccinations.
"Due to the urgency of the situation, the hospitals are urged to prepare the vaccinations now - even if all information and documents are not yet available," says a letter from the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Health to the hospitals in the state, which SPIEGEL has received.
Other federal states have sent comparable information.
"According to the current status, the facilities should be" vaccinable "from December 15," says the recommendations from Schleswig-Holstein.
The state provides around 80,000 doses of the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer for hospital staff.
Since each must receive two doses, 40,000 people could be immunized.
"According to the current status and taking into account the average vaccination rates, this is sufficient for the employees of all hospitals in Schleswig-Holstein," says the authority's statement.
Just a few weeks ago, Biontech and Pfizer published the first data from the crucial phase III study with more than 43,000 participants.
According to this, the vaccine is 95 percent effective.
There was no evidence of serious side effects.
However, 3.8 percent of those vaccinated complained of fatigue, and two percent reported headaches after the vaccination.
"Risk of serious side effects lower than risk from Covid-19"
However, it remains to be seen how long vaccinated people are protected from Covid 19 disease and whether the vaccination will retain its high level of effectiveness in the long term.
Nothing is known about possible long-term side effects of the most developed vaccines to date, as the study participants were vaccinated only a few months or weeks ago.
"The risk of serious side effects from one of the vaccines - especially in the risk groups - seems to me to be significantly lower than the risk of Covid 19 disease. We are currently facing a threat from which vaccines can protect us," said the immunologist Leif Erik Sander from the Berlin Charité der SPIEGEL.
(Read more about this here.)
Because the vaccination from Biontech and Pfizer does not contain any weakened viruses or components of the corona pathogen, experts expect it to be well tolerated.
The vaccine is a so-called mRNA vaccine.
The genetic blueprint of a virus component is injected, which in the best case scenario should trigger a chain reaction in the body: Human cells recognize the genetic code and build the virus protein, which does not make you sick, but simulates an infection in the immune system.
The body's own defenses then position, among other things, precisely fitting antibodies that can also switch off the real virus.
This approach promises several advantages.
Because the vaccine works without weakened viruses, it may have fewer side effects.
At the same time, tailor-made vaccines against cancer cells could be developed in this way.
(Read more about this here).
However, it was questionable whether the genetic information of the virus alone would trigger a robust immune response.
And no mRNA vaccine has ever been approved for humans.
The first study data from Biontech now suggest that the principle actually works.
In addition to the Mainz-based company, the US biotech company Moderna has also developed an mRNA vaccine that, according to the first data, is also almost 95 percent effective.
The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca recently published the first results of a phase III study.
This vaccine is based on so-called vector viruses.
All three vaccine candidates are currently in a rolling review process at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which decides on approvals in the EU.
This means that the study results are continuously reviewed and not just when they are finally available.
This shortens the bureaucratic time required.
However, it is unclear whether the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer will actually be approved on December 15.
The fact that hospitals should be ready for vaccinations on that day is primarily due to the logistics.
According to the current status, the vaccine only lasts at minus 70 degrees for a longer period of time and should therefore be stored in specially set up centers.
Further distribution from there has to be quick, because at normal refrigerator temperatures the cans may only last for a day or two.
There were initial reports that the cans could also have a longer shelf life, but the authorities are currently planning to use this short period of time.
Vaccination centers are therefore already being set up nationwide, cold chains are being organized and storage facilities are being created.
The hospitals should now indicate how many employees want to be vaccinated and when, so that doses are ready in time.
Priority is given to employees who have to protect themselves particularly against infections and who have frequent contact with patients.
This includes, for example, staff in intensive care units, emergency rooms or delivery rooms.
Employees who have contact with Covid 19 patients should also be vaccinated first.
Hospitals also need to have enough syringes and needles so that the vaccine can be administered.
Vaccination is no substitute for corona rules
In Schleswig-Holstein, hospitals will probably have to pick up the cans themselves from vaccination centers.
"Bring cool boxes," says the letter from the Ministry of Health.
However, they don't have to go to minus 70 degrees if the hospitals use up the cans within two days.
A documentation tool with which all vaccinations can be recorded in a uniform manner will not be available until the beginning of next year.
Until then, hospitals should collect the data in such a way that they can later be collected centrally.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), the Ethics Council and the Leopoldina Science Academy recently made recommendations as to who should be vaccinated first:
People who
belong to the risk group
due to
their age or previous illnesses
Employees in
hospitals and nursing homes
People
in the public service
with key positions in society and public order such as police officers or employees in health departments, fire departments, teachers, educators
People who
live in cramped accommodation
such as
in refugee shelters or facilities for the homeless.
However, the decision on the exact prioritization rests with politicians.
It is also questionable when sufficient vaccine will be available.
The EU had secured up to 300 million doses of the Biontech vaccine, up to 400 million more from AstraZeneca and up to 160 million from Moderna.
None of the vaccine candidates have yet been approved.
In addition, vaccinated people must continue to adhere to corona restrictions.
Because it is not yet clear whether people who have been vaccinated may not get sick but still be contagious.
Icon: The mirror
