Corona vaccinations in Germany: Nurses hesitate - now it seems clear why

The vaccinations against the corona virus start with many breakdowns in Germany.

There are delivery bottlenecks with the corona vaccine.

Germany has to react.

The news ticker.

• Coronavirus pandemic in Germany

  : The start of the

  corona vaccination

  runs with major breakdowns.

• Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU)

  *

  is

  sharply criticized

  for planning the procurement of

  vaccine

  against

  Covid-19

  *

  .

• Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) made the vaccination strategy a "top priority".

  The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is now calling for planning security.

• This

  news ticker

  on

  coronavirus vaccinations in Germany *

  is updated regularly.

Update of 7 January, 8:05:

The

vaccinations

for

nurses

is lower than expected.

From the perspective of the chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko),

Thomas Mertens

, this is mainly due to a

lack of information

and

incorrect information

.

"You must not assume that the previous knowledge of an mRNA vaccine among medical staff is on average much better than in the rest of the population," said Mertens of the dpa.

Another reason for the reluctance to

vaccinate

could be that

nurses

wanted to get comprehensive information, said

Bernd Meurer

, President of the Federal Association of Private Providers of Social Services (bpa).

"We and the facility managers explain again and again that every vaccinated employee

lowers

the

risk

in the facilities

and

protects lives

."

Corona vaccinations in Germany: patient protectors call for mandatory tests for nurses

There is also skepticism about possible

side effects

or

long-term consequences

.

According to experts

, the

vaccines are

very safe.

Pfizer / Biontech

and

Moderna

state an

effectiveness of around 94 percent

for their approved vaccines

.

The series of tests

showed

only

a few side effects

.

The vaccines not yet approved in Germany are also highly effective and rarely have serious side effects.

As

a consequence of the low willingness of the nursing staff

to

vaccinate, the

board of the German Patient

Protection

Foundation,

Eugen Brysch

, demanded

mandatory corona tests

for all nursing staff before each shift.

"In order to adequately protect those in need of care in view of the low willingness to vaccinate among staff, we need a

mandatory test for caregivers,

" he told the

editorial network in Germany

.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: Söder makes Merkel responsible

Update from January 6th, 7 p.m.:

With the approval of the

Moderna vaccine

, the

EU

provided positive news, but

after a meeting of the Bavarian cabinet on Wednesday

,

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder

now

demands

from the federal government that more planning security for vaccine procurement and Delivery is guaranteed.

It is now important that every possible vaccine can be procured and produced.

The quantities ordered are not the problem.

The only question is when the doses will arrive at the vaccination centers in the country.

In the 99 centers around Bavaria, “what works” is vaccinated.

This is the only real long-term strategy that exists against the virus, which is why the

CSU

man warns against excessive hopes for a quick

end to the

pandemic

.

Around 90,000 people in

Bavaria received

the first of two vaccinations.

In return, it is a positive signal that the Chancellor has now made the issue a "top priority".

The Prime Minister also suggested a

vaccination campaign

to increase preparedness in the country.

This should include role models from public life, among other things.

One is currently noticing that the willingness to vaccinate among residents of

old people's and nursing homes is

quite high, but there

is still reluctance

among

nursing staff

.

“We are entering a decisive phase,” ´ said Söder

Corona vaccinations in Germany: EU Commission confirms approval of Moderna vaccine

Update from January 6th, 5:00 p.m.:

After

Ursula von der Leyen was

already hoping for a quick

EU approval of

the

Moderna vaccine

at noon

, the approval of the preparation is now official.

The EU Commission announced in Brussels.

“We source safe & effective # COVID19 vaccines for people in Europe.

We have

approved

the vaccine from Moderna

, the second in the EU, ”wrote the

EU Commission chief

on

Twitter

.

We source safe & effective # COVID19 vaccines for people in Europe.

We approved @moderna_tx's vaccine, the second in the EU.

Europe has so far procured 2 billion doses of potential vaccines - more than enough for all of us #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/tKXEDGe8yZ

- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 6, 2021

The European Union has already ordered around 160 million vaccine doses.

The advantage over the vaccine from

Biontech

is that it does not need ultra-

cold

storage and can therefore be delivered more easily.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: EMA gives the green light for approval of the Moderna vaccine

Update from January 6th, 1.40 p.m.:

EU Commission chief

Ursula von der Leyen

has

welcomed

the

EMA's

recommendation

for

EU approval

of

Moderna's

corona vaccine

.

"Good news for our efforts to bring more Covid-19 vaccine to Europeans," wrote von der Leyen on Twitter on Wednesday.

The

EU Commission is

now working at full speed to approve the drug and make it available in the EU.

Good news for our efforts to bring more # COVID19 vaccines to Europeans!

@EMA_News assessed that the @moderna_tx vaccine is safe & effective.

Now we are working at full speed to approve it & make it available in the EU.

- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 6, 2021

Corona vaccinations in Germany: EMA gives the green light for approval of the Moderna vaccine

Update from January 6th, 1:28 p.m.:

The

European Medicines Agency (EMA)

has

recommended

conditional marketing authorization for the

corona vaccine from

the US pharmaceutical company

Moderna

.

The EMA announced on Wednesday in Amsterdam.

The

EU Commission

now has to make the final decision on approval

- approval is considered certain.

It would be the

second approval

for a Covid-19 vaccine in the

European Union

.

📢 EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorization for COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna to prevent # COVID19 in people from 18 years of age: https://t.co/l9KMZlx7wa pic.twitter.com/BdvXanjOHN

- EU Medicines Agency (@EMA_News) January 6, 2021

Corona vaccination in Germany: the RKI's reporting system is hardly used

Update from January 6th, 12.40 pm:

For the

start of vaccination

in

Germany

, the RKI has developed a

reporting system

for so-called "vaccination rate monitoring".

The

federal states

can use this to

report current figures.

According to a report from the

world

, the offer has not yet been used by most federal states.

When

asked

how many

federal states

have been using

the

reporting system

so far, a spokeswoman for the

RKI

replied

: “At least one.” The other states have so far reported their vaccination rates

by email

in consultation with the RKI

, according to the spokeswoman.

However, this should only be an interim solution.

"Some countries are waiting for further technical specifications of the system, which should be available soon," she said.

Therefore, the

vaccination data are

currently only available at the

state level

, according to the RKI.

A more detailed display - for example by

cities

and

districts

in which a particularly large number of people are sick - is not yet possible.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: decisive turning point?

WHO experts disagree with Biontech

Update from January 6,

10:50 a.m

.:

For the full protective effect of the

corona vaccine

from 

Biontech / Pfizer

, two injections are necessary about three weeks apart.

Since the vaccine is scarce in this country, however, there are considerations

to

postpone

the

second dose in

order to be able to give the first dose to as many people as possible.

Experts

are aware

disagree

in their assessments in a delayed administration of the second dose.

"In this particular pandemic situation, it is justifiable to use the vaccine doses that are now available to enable as many people as possible to have the first immunization and

to catch up with

the second vaccination with a delay, but

mandatory within 60 days

," writes the

Society for Immunology

in a statement .

Corona vaccination: Postponing the second dose is justifiable according to WHO experts - Biontech warns

Advisors to the

World Health Organization (WHO)

consider it

justifiable

in

exceptional

cases to postpone the administration of the second dose by a few weeks.

Alejandro Cravitio

, chair of the WHO Expert Group on Immunizations (SAGE), recommended Tuesday that the second dose of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine should be given 21 to 28 days after the first dose.

A

time extension

until the second vaccine dose is possible, however, in order to "maximize" the number of recipients of a first vaccine dose.

Biontech

had previously warned against such an approach.

Both the

European Medicines Agency (EMA)

as the approval authority and the manufacturer

Biontech

note that there is so far

no data

on whether the

protective effect

lasts longer than a few weeks after the first vaccination dose.

"I believe that people are not well protected after the first injection," said

Sebastian Ulbert

from the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI).

Published data on the immune response of test persons showed that the body

hardly produced any protective antibodies

after the first dose

.

Corona vaccination in Germany: European way "important and right goal"

Update from January 5, 9:09 p.m.:

The

federal government

sees the current vaccinations against the

corona virus

as important

"Perspective for a normalization of our everyday life."

Angela Merkel

emphasized this

at the

lockdown press conference

of the federal and state governments on Tuesday evening.

The Chancellor also made it clear that a common European way of ordering vaccines is an “

important and right goal

”.

With this, Merkel expressly stood behind Health Minister

Jens Spahn (CDU)

, who was harshly criticized in advance for the vaccine distribution.

Merkel stressed that Spahn was doing a “great job”.

According to the federal government, more

vaccine doses are

expected in the

second quarter

"overall, the

European Union

has ordered significantly more vaccine than is necessary to vaccinate the entire European Union," said Merkel on Tuesday.

The organizational

delivery problems

are to be further resolved: "The federal government will provide the federal states with reliable delivery times based on manufacturer reports in order

to enable

secure

schedule management

on site," explains the federal-state resolution.

In the run-up, criticism was voiced because a large part of the vaccine doses had not yet been distributed.

According to research by

Der Spiegel

, this is only just under 24 percent of the cans delivered.

Our data on COVID vaccinations is updated.

Total doses administered per 100 people:

🇮🇱 Israel 14.1

🇧🇭 Bahrain 3.6

🇬🇧 United Kingdom 1.4

🇺🇸 United States 1.4

🇩🇪 Germany 0.3

🇪🇸 Spain 0.2 🆕

🇳🇴 Norway 0.04 🆕

→ More countries, more metrics: https: // t.co/3imP7PqURn pic.twitter.com/r2CTkKVKIq

- Our World in Data (@OurWorldInData) January 4, 2021

Approval of the corona vaccine Moderna: EMA decision is expected for Wednesday

In terms of

vaccine approval

, the government did not want to anticipate the European approval authority.

An EMA decision on the approval of the

Moderna vaccine

is expected on Wednesday.

Then the EU Commission has to agree to what is considered a formality.

This would mean that two vaccines against the coronavirus would already be approved in the EU.

Update from January 5, 6:06 p.m .:

Corona risk groups

vaccinated

“day and night”

- the

director of the Institute of German Economy (IW)

, Michael Hüther,

requests this

.

People in retirement and nursing homes as well as German citizens over 70 years of age should be vaccinated much faster, Hüther criticized according to afp on Tuesday "for example also on

weekends, even at night

".

This is necessary "to avoid a further lockdown extension beyond January".

"Once the

risk groups have been vaccinated

, there is no longer any justification for a

comprehensive lockdown,

" according to Hüthner's plan.

After all, the economic consequences of the lockdown are already being felt.

The business representative further emphasized that

the lockdown costs

3.5 to five billion euros

every week

, and only if borders remain open, value chains and the global economy have the opportunity to stabilize.

Hüthner also criticizes

the high

entry barriers

for

state bridging

aid.

For many entrepreneurs, the question of

existence

arises in January

.

(vs)

The lockdown costs around 3.5 to 5 billion euros every week.

This makes it all the more important to have quick vaccinations on weekends, including at night.

The detailed comment from IW director @michael_huether https://t.co/BmSZ7JEV28

- Institute of the German Economy (@iw_koeln) January 5, 2021

Update from January 5, 5:38 p.m.:

On

Wednesday

,

Chancellor Angela Merkel

(CDU)

wants to

discuss new ways of accelerating vaccine production with some specialist ministers.

In addition to Health Minister Jens Spahn, Economics Minister Peter Altmaier and Chancellor Helge Braun (all CDU), Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) will also be there, as Spahn's spokesman Hanno Kautz said on Tuesday at the request of afp. 

The meeting serves as an

exchange

"on the question of

whether and how the additional production of vaccines in Germany

can be supported

in a

coordinated manner".

Health Minister Jens Spahn was recently criticized for the procurement of vaccines.

Spahn announced that he would provide information on the current status on Wednesday afternoon.

FDP parliamentary group vice Michael Theurer

spoke of an "

apparently hastily convened crisis summit

on vaccine deficiency" that was overdue.

"Now the Chancellor has to deliver and actually iron out the errors and omissions of the Federal Government."

Vaccination disaster in Germany: pressure on European governments is growing

Update from January 5, 4:54 p.m.:

The pressure on the

governments of Europe is

growing

.

A slow start to vaccination

caused a wave of criticism.

The

EU

now appears to be responding to the allegations.

She is said to

have negotiated

with Biontech to

double the vaccine doses

.

The Spiegel reports from negotiating circles.

Accordingly, the new contract would

include

the purchase of an additional

100 million doses of the Biontech agent

and an option for an

additional 200 million

.

If this new contract is concluded, it would mean an overall availability of 600 million cans for the EU.

That would also have an impact on the

delivery bottlenecks in Germany

.

However, most of the delivery should only be possible in the second half of the year.

Because at the time of

signing

the

contract

with

Biontech it

was not yet clear how fast or successful the manufacturer would be, the

EU had only ordered 200 million cans

, less than from other manufacturers.

This triggered a lot of criticism in retrospect, but it is also justified by the difficult storage conditions of the vaccine

Vaccination disaster in Germany: family doctor raises serious allegations against politics - "We are not heard"

Update from January 5th, 12 noon:

The criticism of the

vaccination plans of the federal government

and the state governments in the respective federal states is unbroken.

A family doctor from

Saxony

has

now sharply criticized

the organization of

vaccinations against the corona virus *

and at the same time raised serious allegations against politics.

“The current system is not efficient.

For weeks we family doctors have been trying to get

involved in

the

corona vaccination

system

up to the Ministry of Social Affairs

.

Because we are well equipped, have the experience and millions of patients trust us, ”said general practitioner Dr.

med.

Klaus Lorenzen the

picture

and explained: "But we are not heard."

In his opinion, it is easier to have those over 80 years of age vaccinated by family doctors instead of quoting them in the vaccination centers.

“We all have refrigerators in which the thawed

Covid vaccine

can be stored for five days.

If only a thousand Saxon family doctors vaccinate 5 patients each Monday to Friday, that would be 25,000 per week. That can of course be increased! ", Said the vice-head of the Association of Family Doctors in

Saxony

.

Coronavirus vaccinations in Germany: Medical President calls for "binding resolutions" from Corona summit

Update from January 5th, 8.55 a.m.:

The President of the German Medical Association,

Klaus Reinhardt

, has called for a nationwide

uniform procedure

in the

corona vaccination campaign

.

Reinhardt told the newspapers of the

Funke media group that

“even and especially in a federal system” it must be possible for such an important task as fighting the

corona pandemic

to proceed in a coordinated nationwide

manner

.

"A potpourri of country-specific regulations, which population groups are vaccinated first and how

vaccination appointments

can be arranged, only leads to uncertainty and calls into question crisis management", criticized the

doctor's president

.

People expect the federal states to

agree

on a

nationwide uniform procedure as

to when and where they would be vaccinated,

Reinhardt

said

.

For this purpose,

“binding resolutions” are required

at the

Corona summit

on Tuesday.

+

Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association.

© picture alliance / dpa |

Wolfgang Kumm

Corona vaccination in Germany: Spahn wants to offer everyone a vaccination by summer

Update from January 4, 10:33 p.m.:

Federal Health

Minister

Jens Spahn

has again rejected criticism of the vaccine

procurement

.

“First of all, from my point of view, it is still right to have gone and to go this European path,” said the CDU politician on Monday evening in the ZDF “heute journal”.

Right from the start, the company relied on several manufacturers because it was not clear who would get there first.

"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."

Spahn further affirmed: "The goal is actually that we can

offer everyone a vaccination in Germany

by the 

summer

." But that also depends on further vaccine approvals.

At the same time, they are working on ensuring that production at Biontech can be ramped up, for example, through a new plant in Marburg.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: Spahn wants to take the pandemic "part of its horror"

“If we manage - and that is the goal with the federal states in

January

- to vaccinate all nursing home residents, if we subsequently manage to vaccinate all over 75, all over 80 year olds, then we will take this pandemic away already a large part of their horror. "

Update from January 4, 9:30 p.m.:

Solutions are apparently being sought under high pressure as to how

more vaccinations against the insidious lung disease can be made possible

from existing

corona vaccine ampoules

.

As NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) said this Monday, no longer just five doses per ampoule are expected, but 5.5.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: the wait for the Moderna vaccine continues

Update from January 4, 9 p.m.:

The

European Medicines Agency (EMA)

has

postponed

the decision on the recommendation of the

Corona vaccine from Moderna

for the EU to Wednesday.

Update from January 4th, 5.30 p.m

.: According to media reports,

Moderna's corona vaccine is

to be approved this Monday - and thus earlier than planned.

Germany

has ordered tens of millions of doses of the

coronavirus vaccine

.

+

Should be before approval: the corona vaccine from Moderna.

© imago images / Sven Simon

Corona vaccinations in Germany: Corona vaccination start is developing into a political debacle

First report from January 4th

: Munich / Düsseldorf - Why was so little ordered?

Why does it take so long?

The

start

of the

vaccination

against the insidious

corona virus

* is

developing

more and more into a political debacle

in

Germany

.

A report from

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is

also causing irritation

.

As

NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU)

announced this Monday in

Düsseldorf

, his state has received

280,000 vaccine doses

so far

.

Half of that will be kept for the second vaccination, which begins January 18, he said.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: North Rhine-Westphalia is waiting for hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses

And: By February 15,

NRW

will

receive around 920,000 additional doses, Laumann said, so that another 460,000 people could be vaccinated.

As the largest German state,

North Rhine-Westphalia

has an estimated 17.9 million inhabitants.

Since the second dose is given two weeks after the first

vaccination

,

according to various reports,

600,000 people

in

North Rhine-Westphalia will

have been

vaccinated against the coronavirus

by the end of February

.

As virologists affirm in unison and almost like a mantra, around two thirds of the population in

Germany

must be

vaccinated

against

Corona

*

to ensure

herd immunity

against the virus.

For North Rhine-Westphalia this would mean vaccinating 11.8 million people.

Corona vaccinations in Germany: Herd immunity would be achieved in NRW in two and a half years

Ergo: If the

vaccinations were to proceed

at the same pace,

herd immunity

in

North Rhine-Westphalia would

only be guaranteed after less than two and a half years.

By Sunday evening, January 3, had in

Germany

, according to

the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)

more than 238,000 people their first dose against the

coronavirus

obtained.

As

Welt

calculated

live

on Monday, as many people were vaccinated in the first eight days of the vaccination campaign as the federal government actually intends for a single day.

(pm)

* Merkur.de and wa.de are part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editorial network

List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / dpa / dpa-Zentralbild / POOL |

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