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A booster as a gift?
Some federal states make it possible, others don't
Photo:
Biserka Stojanovic / iStockphoto / Getty Images
The goal is clear: In order to advance the fight against the coronavirus, the high vaccination rate in Germany should be maintained.
The federal and state governments agreed on Tuesday to aim for a further 30 million booster vaccinations by the end of January.
"Corona is not taking a Christmas break," said Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the consultations with the Prime Minister.
That is why it was decided to continue the vaccination campaign during Christmas and between the years "with undiminished vigor".
Preparations for this have already been made in most federal states.
"The cities are doing everything to ensure that there are also test and vaccination offers between Christmas and New Year," assured the chief executive of the German Association of Cities, Helmut Dedy.
"Because the vaccination campaign should keep its momentum."
But how do the individual federal states proceed during the holidays and between the years?
While in some places a Christmas break is being taken and the period from December 27th to 31st should be used, some federal states want to immunize their citizens on the holidays as well.
In addition to vaccination centers or mobile vaccination teams, others primarily rely on general practitioners who are supposed to use the syringes - which is why in Hesse, for example, the vaccination campaign will not pick up again until January.
Basically, therefore, the following applies: Inquire in your general practitioner whether it will be open in the coming days and whether it will have vaccine ready.
When and where do you vaccinate?
The overview:
Bavaria:
The vaccination centers should, if possible, continue to open seven days a week, including in the evening.
"It is up to the vaccination centers whether or to what extent they open the vaccination centers on December 24th outside of the usual shop opening hours," said the Ministry of Health in Munich.
Bavaria's Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) told Deutschlandfunk: "We have instructed the vaccination centers to keep them open as far as possible."
Baden-Württemberg:
Finding dates on the holidays will be difficult here.
Most vaccination centers in Stuttgart and Karlsruhe remain closed.
On the list of the Ministry of Health, there are only a few vaccination campaigns nationwide between December 24th and 26th - mainly medical practices and vaccination centers.
Berlin:
"We can't take a break from vaccinating," said Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) on Tuesday after a call from the prime ministers.
"The vaccination campaign must also run over the holidays." The Messe Berlin vaccination center is open on December 24th and 31st, but closed on Christmas Day and New Year's.
The same applies to the vaccination center in Tegel.
An overview of the city's vaccination offers can be found here.
Brandenburg:
There are considerable regional differences here: For example, the Potsdam vaccination centers are also open over Christmas, in Frankfurt (Oder) the vaccination center remains closed on public holidays.
An overview of the vaccination offers can be found here.
Bremen:
During the holidays there is no possibility to get vaccinated in this state.
On December 27th, 28th and 29th the vaccination centers are already fully booked.
But there are still hundreds of free dates for December 30th.
Hamburg:
Different contact points - different opening times.
The vaccination center Bezirksamt-Mitte vaccinates without prior appointment (except on December 26th), the same applies to the vaccination center in Eimsbüttel.
Other vaccination centers are closed over the holidays.
You can find an overview here.
In addition, there are numerous mobile vaccination centers in Hamburg with different opening options.
Hesse:
There will probably be less activity in the practices on the holidays and between the years, said Christian Sommerbrodt from the Hessian General Practitioner Association. "Many of them did extra shifts before the holidays." For example, the vaccination center at the Fulda Clinic will only have appointments available again from January 4th (Booster vaccination Biontech / Pfizer) or January 12th (Booster vaccination Moderna), the vaccination clinic in Gießen opens again from December 27th. A list of the inpatient vaccination offers and their opening times can be found here.
Lower Saxony:
In this federal state there are no longer any vaccination centers, so mobile vaccination teams should be out on the days until New Year's Eve.
Family doctors were also asked to continue vaccinating between Christmas and New Year, said State Health Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD).
"Whether they do that is the responsibility of the practice." You can find more information here.
North Rhine-Westphalia:
In the most populous federal state
most community vaccination centers won't open their doors again until December 27th.
But there are exceptions: The Bochum Health Department plans a good hundred vaccinations on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.
Cologne Cathedral deliberately invites you to a four-hour vaccination campaign on Christmas Eve, and an 81-hour vaccination marathon starts on December 24th in a Duisburg hotel.
General information on vaccination offers can be found here.
Rhineland-Palatinate:
The state's twelve vaccination buses are supposed to be on the road between Christmas and New Year, but according to the Mainz Ministry of Health, a use on the holidays is not planned.
The vaccination centers in the country have different regulations: In Lahnstein near Koblenz, for example, vaccinations should also be carried out on Christmas Eve.
Saarland:
There are still many vaccination appointments to be had at short notice - even during the holidays and outside of larger vaccination centers.
"The doctor's surgeries and communal vaccination campaigns will also continue to offer their services over the next few days and weeks," assured the state government.
Saxony:
High incidences, low vaccination rate - but whether and where the federal state vaccinates over the holidays cannot be seen at first glance.
The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians cannot help over the phone, refers to an overview of vaccination offers in the federal state compiled by the German Red Cross, which does not provide specific information on opening times during the holidays.
more on the subject
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Saxony-Anhalt:
The situation here is also inconsistent: Magdeburg's vaccination points do not offer any offers at Christmas, in Halle / Saale there are vaccination appointments on December 24th as well as on the two Christmas holidays.
Schleswig-Holstein
and
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
do not want to vaccinate again with high pressure until December 27th.
In Schleswig-Holstein, vaccines are then administered again in shopping centers, town houses, community centers and schools (information here).
In addition, there are mobile vaccination teams, general practitioners and 26 vaccination centers, where appointments that can be booked online should also be available for the period between the years.
Thuringia:
The incidence is still particularly high here, too, but
online it is not initially clear whether vaccination takes place in Thuringia over the holidays.
A call to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians reveals that it is not possible to get vaccinated in the state over Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's.
The various vaccination centers in Thuringia are open between the years (December 27th to 30th), then close and open again on January 3rd.
The appointment booking portal provides an overview of the various positions.
nil / dpa
