Health Minister Jens Spahn is criticized for his vaccination strategy.
The federal government wants to accelerate the production of vaccines.
The
vaccination campaign
against the coronavirus * has started in Germany.
But not everyone is satisfied with Jens Spahn's * planning.
Spahn
has announced a broad
vaccination of
the interested population in the 2nd quarter of 2021.
Follow the latest news about the coronavirus *.
Update from Tuesday, January 5th, 2021, 12:38 p.m.:
The federal government wants
to speed up
the planned additional
production of corona vaccine in Germany
.
The responsible ministers, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), want to advise on Wednesday (January 6th, 2021) at which points additional production can be supported by the federal government, as the German Press Agency (dpa) learned on Tuesday in Berlin.
The federal nursing agent Andreas Westerfellhaus also called on the federal states on Tuesday to issue uniform vaccination rules.
Health Minister Jens Spahn, Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (both CDU), Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the head of the Federal Chancellery Helge Braun (CDU) should take part
in the government
consultation
on
vaccinations
with the Chancellor, as it was said.
The aim is to
ramp up
additional
production of vaccines in Germany
as quickly as possible.
+
On Wednesday (January 6th, 2021) the federal government will discuss how vaccine production in Germany can be ramped up quickly.
© Frank Molter / dpa
Spahn had
again rejected
criticism of the procurement of the
vaccine
on Monday evening on ZDF *
.
"The fact that we now have so little at the beginning that we have to prioritize has nothing to do with the order quantity, i.e. how much we have ordered, but has something to do with the fact that production capacity is now scarce at the beginning," he said on ZDF.
They are working on the fact that production at
Biontech
can be ramped up,
for example, through a
new plant in Marburg *
.
The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported, citing the government, that this second production site could possibly be available as early as the beginning of February.
The working group with Spahn, Altmaier, Scholz and Braun already set up the Chancellor on Monday, the paper continues.
Telephone call: Merkel and Putin are talking about joint production of vaccines
Chancellor
Merkel
also
spoke
with Russian President
Vladimir Putin
about closer cooperation in the
corona
pandemic, as the Kremlin announced on Tuesday (January 5, 2021).
The phone call was about possible perspectives for the joint production of
vaccines
.
The health ministries of both countries and specialists should continue discussions on this.
Details were initially not given.
A government spokesman in Berlin confirmed that the conversation was about fighting the pandemic.
+
According to the Kremlin, Chancellor Merkel and Russia's President Putin talked about cooperation in vaccine production in a telephone conversation.
© Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Corona vaccinations: Vaccination offer for all Germans in prospect by summer
+++ 6:07 p.m.:
The criticized
Health Minister Jens Spahn
has announced a vaccination offer for all interested citizens in the second quarter of 2021.
According to information from Spiegel,
Spahn
expects
a total of 50 million
vaccine doses
from
Biontech
for
Germany
.
They should then be enough for everyone interested.
All residents of old people's and nursing homes
should
receive
a
vaccination offer
in January
.
In the course of January we can offer all residents of nursing homes a vaccination offer.
In this way we protect the places where the virus strikes too often particularly brutally.
This sub-goal will make a crucial difference in overcoming the #pandemic.
https://t.co/wRNAnO5Axr
- Jens Spahn (@jensspahn) January 2, 2021
Vaccination strategy in Germany: Jens Spahn wants to make everyone an offer by the middle of the year
So far it was expected that the general population could only be
vaccinated
from summer
.
In
Germany,
there is relatively little
vaccine
available
so far
, the late deliveries to the federal states have recently caused a lot of criticism from politics and science.
+++ 1:17 p.m.:
SPD General Secretary
Lars Klingbeil
criticized the
vaccination strategy of
the Federal
Minister
of Health
Jens Spahn.
Germany is in a much worse position than other countries, said Klingbeil in the ARD morning magazine.
Too little
vaccine
had been ordered to vaccinate the entire population and there were hardly any common strategies that were developed with the federal states, so the criticism of the SPD politician.
Criticism of the federal government's corona strategy: SPD general secretary speaks of chaotic conditions
Lars Klingbeil
speaks of chaotic conditions.
Although he emphasizes that the joint ordering of the
vaccine
against
corona
at EU level was correct, Europe does not have to mean that it is happening more slowly, said Klingbeil.
Klingbeil referred to
Biontech
boss Ugur Sahin, who said that his company had offered the EU Commission more vaccine, but the proposal was rejected by the EU.
Germany should also have signed bilateral contracts with
Biontech
, said the
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil.
It was already known in November that the vaccine was good.
Klingbeil expects the federal government to examine cooperation agreements with pharmaceutical companies in order to be able to produce more vaccine doses.
It cannot be that a country in which the
vaccine was
researched had too few doses, criticized Klingbeil in the ARD morning magazine.
+
SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil criticizes Jens Spahn's strategy of corona vaccinations.
He speaks of "chaotic conditions." (Symbol picture)
© Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to accelerate corona vaccinations
Meanwhile, the
Federal
Ministry of
Health is
working on how the
corona vaccinations
could be accelerated.
Jens Spahn's ministry is apparently examining experts' suggestion to postpone the second vaccine dose for the Biontech vaccine beyond the actually planned period of 42 days, various media report, citing a letter from the Ministry of Health.
However, the deviation from the approval requires a scientific consideration, it says in the paper.
It is also being examined whether one vial of the
vaccine is possible
for six vaccinations instead of the approved five vaccinations.
In this way, an increase in the number of available vaccine doses by up to 20 percent is possible.
Corona vaccinations: Drosten defends the EU's approach
Update from Monday, January 4th, 2021, 9:18 a.m.:
Christian Drosten has defended the EU's approach.
“It's such a complex matter.
You had to order the
vaccine
months in advance - and at the time you didn't even know whether the vaccine in question would work. ”It was“ practically impossible ”to be able to evaluate that in retrospect, the virologist said in an interview with the“ Hamburger Morgenpost ” ".
Christian Drosten
, however, reminded how far Great Britain is compared to the EU, for example.
There was the
Corona vaccine
from
AstraZeneca
already approved.
"You should catch up on that very quickly in the EU, because this vaccine can also be vaccinated in normal medical practices," emphasized the expert.
+
Christian Drosten defended the EU.
© Christophe Gateau / dpa
Corona vaccine: hotline overloaded - Ministry of Health gives details
Update from Sunday, January 3rd, 2021, 10:00 a.m.:
The
Corona
hotline, which some federal states also use for
vaccination appointments
, is apparently difficult to reach.
We are currently investigating the "very serious indications that the hotline is overloaded," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Health for "Welt am Sonntag".
There are probably
technical problems
behind this
.
So the
phone number 116117 is overloaded
.
This is operated by the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV).
This enables contact with the medical on-call service at night and on weekends, for example.
According to the Ministry of Health, up to 500,000 calls are expected on the Corona hotline in the coming weeks.
+
The start of vaccination in Germany was heralded.
(Symbol photo)
© Felix Kästle / dpa
Update from Saturday, January 2nd, 2021, 2:50 p.m.:
A doctor from the National Academy of Sciences
Leopoldina
accuses the federal government of “gross failure” in the procurement of corona vaccine.
“Why didn't you order a lot more
vaccine
at risk
in the summer
?” Asks Frauke Zipp.
Recently there were official memorials for the dead, now patience is required, the neurologist criticizes.
If enough
corona vaccine is
available, 60 percent of the population can be
vaccinated
in two to three months, she told the newspaper "Die Welt".
Biontech wants to deliver more corona vaccine to the EU - company boss criticizes EU strategy
+++ 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," company
boss Ugur Sahin
told the dpa news agency.
"We are working with the EU to further expand our production capacities and to be able to provide additional doses of vaccine."
+
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 it is about.
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 things are 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 cans 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.
However, 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.
Apparently 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 producing mRNA vaccines.
“You can't just switch over so that vaccine is suddenly produced instead of aspirin or cough syrup.
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.
In the first week of January, Bavaria will get zero vaccine from the federal government despite the 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 all of this works, 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.
Actually, the metropolis on the Spree would 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 has been given sufficient skills to do 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 and giessener-allgemeine.de are part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Kay Nietfeld / dpa