Dr.
Ulrich Schaller runs a family doctor practice in Munich-Pasing with 1,300 patients in the file.
When he read in our newspaper that students aged 16 and over should be vaccinated at the Planegg grammar school, he was surprised and wrote us an email - because there are still many high-risk patients waiting for the longed-for prick.
A conversation about the shortage economy and its vaccination waiting list.
Dr.
Schaller, how many doses did you get this week?
Schaller
: A Viole Biontech.
That is enough for six first vaccinations.
Just a vial?
Why so little?
Schaller
: Nobody can tell us that.
It is ultimately a shortage economy.
But I have to say that I got more vaccine for second vaccinations with Biontech - for 42 people, i.e. seven violas.
In addition, I received Johnson & Johnson for the first time for 15 people, i.e. three bottles.
Do you annoy the meager deliveries?
Schaller
: No.
That `s how it is.
If there is no more, you don't get more.
The vaccination centers know that too.
Where do you order?
Schaller
: As a doctor, I have a LANR - a lifelong doctor number.
I can use it to order from a pharmacy.
These are then passed on to wholesalers.
Wholesalers, on the other hand, find out - from whom, I don't know, probably from the Federal Ministry of Health - what they are ever allowed to deliver to a doctor.
How much did you order?
Schaller
: I could order 50 or 100 vaccine doses, that is irrelevant and unrealistic.
My pharmacist advises me so that I usually order a little more than I get.
If you exaggerate excessively, you may not get anything - I don't want to risk that.
However, if I had a group practice with ten doctors, then we would have ten numbers and then receive more vaccine.
This may explain why a group practice was able to supply an entire high school - the canceled vaccination campaign in Planegg.
Schaller
: It will be like that.
There are also practices that, unlike general practitioners, do not have a large patient base.
Do you feel disadvantaged?
Schaller
: No.
I know the system.
It's legal if it's fair, but that's another issue.
Are you mad at politics because the prioritization of general practitioners has been lifted?
Schaller
: No, I think that's right.
For example, we see the high incidence among adolescents.
We have to vaccinate at least those 16 and over.
Preference is currently given to vaccinating young women with asthma
Who will get your vaccination doses now?
Schaller
: I am currently getting Biontech for young women with chronic diseases, especially asthma.
But I also vaccinate under 60-year-olds with Astrazeneca after thorough education.
I have several hundred patients on a waiting list.
Does that mean you are prioritizing yourself now?
Schaller
: Sure, I don't go around with the watering can, there are still many unvaccinated patients who need preferential protection.
The vaccination ordinance is a good guide.
Are there angry patients?
Schaller
: Yes, there are even very often complaints.
My specialist employees already have a thick skin.
Sometimes our phones are paralyzed, patients can no longer get through, and important appointments are lost.
We actually need our own vaccine hotline.
I can only ask you to refrain from inquiries if you are already on the waiting list.
Most of the time, the patients are not informed about the delivery problems at Biontech.
Some tell me you have such a huge practice, I thought you were swimming in the vaccine.
Is there also a need for education, for example about cross-vaccinations?
Schaller
: Yes, these are exactly the same questions that I have to answer a lot.
For example, that after an initial vaccination with Astrazeneca you can vaccinate with Biontech, but should keep the interval of twelve weeks.
Likewise, those who have recovered should not be vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine six months after infection.
By when will you have finished your waiting list?
Schaller
: I'm afraid that will last until autumn.
