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In the United States, children aged 12 and over are vaccinated
Photo: Damian Dovarganes / dpa
In the end, Markus Söder found conciliatory words.
The vaccination summit between the federal government and the states brought a lot of clarification, said Bavaria's Prime Minister at the subsequent press conference.
"It's getting better every day in Germany," he said.
The more vaccine there is, the more will be vaccinated.
But currently, as the prime ministers found in their video conference with the federal government, apparently to their surprise, the quantities are still limited.
And if the children should also be vaccinated, Söder explained, then it would be a matter of redistribution.
In this case, redistribution means that there will be no separate vaccine deliveries for children aged 12 and over.
If the European Medicines Agency approves the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine for children from the age of twelve, as expected, on Friday, then they can make a vaccination appointment - just like everyone else, as soon as the vaccination prioritization ends on June 7th.
This also applies if the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) should come to a different conclusion ten days later in its assessment of the benefits and risks of vaccination for children.
The announcements of the last few days had sounded very different. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn had announced in an interview with "Bild am Sonntag" a large vaccination campaign for schoolchildren until the end of August. The suffering of the children in the pandemic worries him very much, said Spahn. It sounded like an attempt to make amends, as children and young people in the pandemic were mostly left behind in many political decisions.
But where the vaccine for the approximately 5.3 million people age group of twelve to 18-year-olds should come from, Spahn had not really made it clear so far.
Assuming a vaccination readiness of 60 percent in this group, the Ministry of Health has calculated a requirement of 3.18 million doses each for the first and second vaccination.
Experts feared that this would slow down the vaccination campaign by about two weeks.
Countries expected special quotas for children
The topic caused a heated dispute between the country leaders and the health minister at the vaccination summit.
Above all, it was about a specific word and its meaning.
In the last resolution of the Conference of Health Ministers, it was said: Those countries that have a concept to ensure that a vaccination offer for children between the ages of twelve and 18 is made by the end of August "will receive the additional vaccination doses required for the first and second vaccinations from the federal government." .
“Additionally.” In the federal states, this was understood to mean that “additionally” means “more”: They expected special contingents for the children.
In the Federal Ministry of Health, however, they did not know where these cans should be conjured up. After all, the vaccine quantities were initially ordered for the adult population alone. "Additionally" only meant a new distribution. The preparations would therefore be obtained from the contingent of family and company doctors, said Spahn in der Schalte. Gradually until the end of August.
Several prime ministers attacked Spahn for making this statement.
What is the point of such a decision if the additional commitment could not be correct at all, according to reports, Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) wanted to know.
"If we don't get an additional vaccine, we need a new assessment of the situation," said the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) according to the participants.
When the country leaders of the other parties had already worked their way through Spahn, Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder also addressed his Union colleagues again.
The health ministers had spoken of an "additional vaccine", "in agreement with the federal government."
Children cannot expect appointments straight away
Finally, it is stated: From June 7th, children over twelve years of age are equal to all other people in terms of vaccination.
All those who have not received a vaccination by then.
In the resolution of the federal and state governments, a small blow in the direction of Spahn is noted: "Due to the limited availability of vaccines, this does not mean that appointments are available for this group at short notice." organize specific vaccination programs for children and adolescents.
After the summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) as chairman of the Prime Minister's Conference and his deputy Söder tried to cover up the controversies of the previous four hours at the joint press conference.
"Vaccinating children is a very sensitive act."
Chancellor Angela Merkel
Vaccination isn't everything, was their message.
Safe school operations, so everyone assured, should be guaranteed regardless of how many children are vaccinated.
School and vacation trips do not depend on the vaccination of the children, emphasized Merkel: "The vaccination of children is a very sensitive act."
It seemed as if the federal and state governments wanted to take a burden off their shoulders: life can start again, even if the little ones can still get sick.
To many parents that might sound like a mockery.
Most children did not get seriously ill, explained Berlin's Mayor Müller, even if the number of infections among children and adolescents was high.
That is why it has now been agreed not to give preference to the younger ones in the vaccination sequence.
One has agreed, after all.
But the resentment against the health minister had not subsided after the round.
How did the dispute about additional vaccine deliveries for children come about?
While the Chancellor, when asked whether Spahn had promised too much about the vaccine quantities, quickly tried to appease and spoke of misunderstandings, Markus Söder, who was connected, could be seen answering differently on the monitor: He nodded.