In recent years there have been repeated shortages in the supply of vaccines against influenza.
How does the new season start?
Berlin - The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Berlin (KV) has called on risk groups in particular to be vaccinated against the flu.
The KV board announced on Wednesday that there would be a high level of willingness to vaccinate, as in the Corona year 2020.
Last season around 791,400 patients were vaccinated against influenza in practices in Berlin, 39 percent more than in 2019. "Vaccinations reduce the risk of serious illnesses or fatal courses," it said.
According to the General Practitioners 'Association of Berlin and Brandenburg, doctors' surgeries have been able to stock up on flu vaccines so far this autumn.
So far there are no signs of a defect, said the chairman of the board Wolfgang Kreischer at the request of the German press agency.
He is confident that the quantities will be sufficient, especially for the risk groups.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a family doctor association complained last week that there were delivery bottlenecks.
At the beginning of October, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) assured that the vaccines would also be available early this year due to earlier orders and earlier approval by the authorities.
According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, around 28.9 million vaccine doses had been released by October 17.
According to Spahn, the aim is to achieve a number of vaccinations at least as high as in the previous season, when 22 million were recorded.
That was already much more than usual in previous years.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) recommends vaccination against influenza for people over 60 years of age, the chronically ill, pregnant women and certain professional groups.
In the past 2020/21 season, the flu wave was virtually canceled due to the corona restrictions - not only in Germany.
Contrary to some fears, he does not expect a bad flu wave, said Kreischer and justified this with the still widespread wearing of masks, keeping a safe distance and not shaking hands.
According to Kreischer, patients are increasingly making use of the option of being immunized against corona and flu at an appointment.
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Health Minister Manne Lucha (Greens) calls for a vaccination against influenza before the start of the flu season.
This is especially important this year because very few people fell ill with flu last year because of the corona lockdown, Lucha explained on Sunday, according to the announcement.
The contact restrictions at that time are no longer needed to this extent, and at the same time basic immunity in the population is less pronounced due to the lower number of infections in 2020.
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People aged 60 and over would be entitled to a special high-dose vaccine, emphasized the KV as a "special feature this year".
Usually, the immune system weakens with age.
Spahn, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler and Stiko boss Thomas Mertens had warned of a possible double burden on the health system from influenza and corona this autumn and winter.
Mertens said that so far too few people in this country have been vaccinated against influenza, measured against international recommendations.
dpa