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Sprayed cans of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine in a vaccination center in Hamburg
Photo: Joerg Boethling / imago images / Joerg Boethling
Vaccinations against the corona virus have been in Germany for more than a month.
But the vaccination campaign has so far been slow.
There is a lack of deliveries, the distribution is chaotic in parts, and it is still unclear whether the vaccines will protect against the new mutations of the coronavirus.
At a specially organized vaccination summit, the federal and state governments are now asking the vaccine-producing companies to report.
According to SPIEGEL information, a total of ten companies are invited to the switch announced for the afternoon.
They should be given time to inform about their vaccine, the status of approval, the effectiveness in mutants, the planned deliveries and their measures to increase production.
A schedule that is available to SPIEGEL provides for this.
At the vaccination summit, the federal and state governments want to get more clarity about when and how much vaccine can be expected.
The companies Biontech, Pfizer, Curevac, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson are invited.
In addition to the vaccine manufacturers, representatives of several chemical and pharmaceutical associations also speak.
In addition to Chancellor Angela Merkel, several federal ministers, the heads of government of the federal states and representatives of the European Commission are also involved.
In addition to questions about the development and production of vaccines, the future prioritization and distribution of vaccines should also be discussed.
Lectures by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians are planned.
Delayed start of vaccination
The vaccination campaign began in Germany on Boxing Day - but so far there have been problems in many places.
Insecure delivery dates for the scarce vaccine, busy appointment hotlines and vacant vaccination centers cause trouble.
So far, over 3.5 million cans have been delivered in Germany.
2.2 million cans were injected.
Some countries store the vaccine first in order to have it safe for the necessary second syringe, while others administer everything at once, trusting future deliveries.
So far, active ingredients from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna have been injected, and on Friday the third vaccine, that of Astrazeneca, was approved.
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) in particular has been criticized.
He had initially described the difficult scheduling and delivery bottlenecks for the vaccines as a "jerk" at the beginning of the vaccination campaign.
He is now predicting "at least ten tough weeks" with a short vaccine.
Industry shifts responsibility to government
The Federal Association of German Industry also warned of excessive expectations before the start of the vaccination summit.
The federal and state governments should not raise false hopes that vaccine production in Germany could be increased dramatically within a few weeks, said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm on Monday.
"A significant production expansion is so complex and time-consuming that no further acceleration in vaccine delivery is to be expected."
The pharmaceutical industry has developed several vaccines in record time, added the former Siemens manager.
Better coordination between the federal and state governments is now urgently needed.
»The inconsistent vaccination and logistics management is already causing uncertainty with the vaccinations that are just starting with the quantities currently available.
With larger vaccination quantities and more people to be vaccinated, the demands on processes and logistics increase. "
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mrc / stw / mgb / dpa