The start of the corona vaccination is bumpy in Germany.
Now the Biontech bosses have spoken out about expanding production.
It is also announced that Biontech will deliver more corona vaccine to the EU.
The
vaccination campaign
against the corona virus * has started in Germany.
But not everyone is satisfied with Jens Spahn's * planning.
Now
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin is
criticizing
the EU's vaccine order.
Follow the latest news about the corona virus *.
+++ 8:01 p.m.:
The
corona vaccine from
the Mainz company
Biontech
has been vaccinated in the EU for a few days, the vaccine is in
great
demand and in short
supply
.
There are already discussions among experts as to whether the second vaccination could be postponed in order to get more vaccination capacities.
Now
Biontech
wants to
deliver
more
vaccine
than planned to the European Union.
The company is "in advanced discussions as to whether and how we can provide more
vaccine doses
from Europe for Europe this year," said company
boss Ugur Sahin
towards the news agency dpa.
"We are working with the EU to further expand our production capacities and provide additional vaccine doses."
+
Biontech wants to deliver more corona vaccine to the European Union.
© Fabrizio Bensch / dpa
This week it was agreed with the EU Commission
to deliver a
further 100 million
vaccine
doses.
An option already agreed in the EU framework agreement was drawn: initially 200 million doses of the
Biontech vaccine
were firmly ordered,
with the option of purchasing 100 million additional units.
This expansion was contractually agreed a few days ago after the EU states had announced a corresponding need.
When asked, a company spokeswoman did not want to say how quickly a contract for additional deliveries could come about and what quantities are involved.
Biontech boss wonders about the EU's corona vaccine strategy
Update from Friday, January 1, 2020, 10:31 a.m
.: The
vaccine manufacturer Biontech
from Mainz is working under high pressure to
expand
production capacities for the
vaccine against the coronavirus
.
"At the moment it is not looking rosy, there is a hole because there are no other approved vaccines and we have to fill this gap with our vaccine," said
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin
, who runs the company together with his wife Özlem Türeci, "Spiegel ".
But Germany
will "get enough vaccine".
Sahin promises more planning security: "At the end of January we will have clarity as to whether and how much we can produce more."
+
Corona vaccine: Biontech boss Ugur Sahin explains why it is so difficult to increase production.
(Symbol photo)
© AFP PHOTO / BIONTECH
According to the Spiegel report, the US had secured 600 million doses of
Biontech
in July
, twice as many as the EU.
The Europeans had only awarded the contract in November.
Sahin explains why it took longer: “The process
in Europe
was certainly not as quick and straightforward as it was in other countries.
Also because the
European Union is
not directly authorized, but the states have a say. "
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin: increasing production of the corona vaccine is "anything but trivial"
It is "anything but trivial"
to increase
the
production of the corona vaccine in the
short term.
Biontech has already “commissioned five manufacturers in Europe to support production,” said Özlem Türeci.
"Further contracts are being negotiated." Several politicians recently called for the production of the vaccine to be accelerated - including Christian Lindner (FDP) and Markus Söder (CSU).
The
vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer
was approved in the EU just before Christmas and has also been administered for a few days.
There are currently no
further approvals for
corona vaccines
in the EU.
The international community has already ordered vaccine doses from several manufacturers that are still being developed.
“There was an assumption that many other companies would come with vaccines.
Obviously the impression prevailed: We'll get enough, it won't be so bad, and we have it under control.
I was surprised, ”said Sahin.
Biontech boss Ugur Sahin: The production of mRNA vaccines is very complex
On the question of whether
Biontech could license
other manufacturers to produce the new vaccine, Sahin emphasized the complexity involved in the production of mRNA vaccines.
“You can't just switch over, so that instead of aspirin or cough syrup, vaccine is suddenly produced.
The process requires years of expertise and appropriate structural and technological equipment. "
+
The vaccination center in Frankfurt am Main.
The vaccination center with dozens of vaccination booths and waiting area in the festival hall in Frankfurt is deserted at the end of the year (photo taken with an extreme wide-angle lens from the dome of the hall).
© Boris Roessler, dpa
Corona vaccine: SPD calls on Jens Spahn to act
Update from Thursday, December 31, 2020, 8 a.m.:
The parliamentary managing director of the SPD in the Bundestag, Carsten Schneider, has
asked
Health Minister
Jens Spahn
to
quickly resolve the initial problems
with the vaccinations
.
“He is responsible for vaccine procurement and distribution.
That, and only that, must now be priority number one for him, "said Schneider of the German press agency.
“The Bundestag has given him the necessary skills and financial resources.
The federal states are responsible for vaccination on site.
It is difficult to organize if it is not clear when and how much vaccine will arrive. "
Breakdown with corona vaccine: the next deliveries should be brought forward
+++ 17:26:
After the delayed
vaccine deliveries
in Bavaria and Berlin, the next delivery should be brought forward.
Accordingly, the next batch of the
Biontech vaccine should
already
on January 8, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said.
"After that, the next delivery will take place on January 18, 2021 and from then on initially weekly on Mondays."
The faltering delivery of the
vaccine
led to widespread criticism.
The confusion about the exact deadline for issuing the funds also met with dissatisfaction.
The Bavarian State Secretary Klaus Holstschek said: "For professional planning, we need reliable information on the upcoming
vaccine
deliveries at an early stage
."
+
The delivery of the corona vaccine is delayed.
© Sven Hoppe / dpa
Update from Wednesday, December 30th, 2020, 4:24 p.m.:
There is currently a
vaccine shortage
not only in Berlin
.
Bavaria is also affected.
The "Bayerischer Rundfunk" reports on this.
17,000 people have already received the
vaccine
.
But it has to stay that way for now.
Because according to
Bavaria's Minister of Health Melanie Huml
, the Free State will probably not receive any delivery in the first week of January, contrary to planning.
For the politician, this is
incomprehensible
with such high levels of
new corona infections
.
"The vaccination doses that were actually promised were already firmly planned in our vaccination centers," she said.
From January 11th, the deliveries will start rolling again.
Bavaria will get zero vaccine from the federal government in the first week of January despite a promise, complains Health Minister Huml (#CSU).
Not until January 11th again.
It's been going really well so far.
- Christian Deutschländer (@CDeutschlaender) December 30, 2020
Corona vaccine: Delivery for Berlin is canceled - Sharp criticism of Jens Spahn
First report from Wednesday, December 30, 2020, 4 p.m.:
Berlin - The corona vaccine is currently still in short supply in Germany.
And it is also urgently needed, as more and more people are dying from or with Corona.
This is one of the
reasons
why there should be a significant expansion of
corona vaccinations in the
coming year
.
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) expects the vaccine from Moderna to be approved soon.
Spahn assumes a "quick processing", as AFP reported.
In addition, another production facility for the preparation from
Biontech
and
Pfizer is due
to
open
in Germany
in February
.
"If everything works out, we will be able to vaccinate the area faster than expected," said Jens Spahn in Berlin.
So far, more than 78,000 citizens have received the corona vaccine.
Mainly people who live in nursing homes received the vaccine.
+
Vaccination is already taking place in Hessen.
Berlin, on the other hand, looks into the tube.
© Andreas Arnold / dpa
Corona vaccinations - criticism of Jens Spahn: "I'm angry"
But not everyone agrees with the vaccination campaign so far.
Above all in the capital there was anger.
"We have now received the message from the Federal
Ministry of Health
that the delivery will be
canceled
in the first calendar
week
without replacement," said
Berlin Health Minister Dilek Kalacyi
at the "rbb".
You need a reliable delivery.
The metropolis on the Spree would actually have received 58,500 vaccination doses before the turn of the year.
The uncertainty about the delivery dates makes it much more difficult to assign appointments.
The vaccine is needed now.
"I'm pissed off.
The shortage of the
vaccine
remains a problem for the vaccination start in Germany, ”she said.
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil is also not satisfied.
"I find the chaos around the vaccination start very annoying," said Klingbeil of the Düsseldorf "Rheinische Post".
I would like to thank our # vaccination teams, who are very committed on site We want to further increase vaccinations.
For this it is important that @BMG_Bund ensures that we continue to receive enough #vaccine quickly.
#coronavirus https://t.co/uW0cvdxQfM
- Manuela Schwesig (@ManuelaSchwesig) December 30, 2020
Vaccinations against Corona: Jens Spahn admits that there are problems
The minister had months to prepare the campaign.
“He was given sufficient skills for this,” continued Klingbeil.
Also
Jens Spahn
had to admit that there are problems.
“Yes, it jerks in one place or another,” said the politician.
Overall, however, the "largest vaccination campaign in the history of Germany has started successfully".
(Moritz Serif and Daniela Deeg with dpa and AFP)
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Fabrizio Bensch / dpa
