There is criticism because the Ministry of Health is capping the order quantities for the Biontech vaccine.
Minister Jens Spahn sees no alternative.
At 10 o'clock he will be making a live press conference.
Germany in the Corona * crisis: Jens Spahn * gives a press conference on the current situation.
The health minister of the CDU * speaks about limiting the Biontech / Pfizer * corona vaccine for refreshments.
Alternative corona vaccines * like that of Moderna * should also be discussed.
Berlin - The Managing Minister of Health Jens Spahn has again defended the heavily criticized upper order limits * for corona vaccine from Biontech. “I can't withdraw it because it's simply a question of the amount available,” said the CDU politician on Sunday evening in the ZDF program * “Berlin direkt”. “We're not holding anything back. I can't deliver a vaccine from Biontech that isn't there. "
The demand has risen insanely in the past two weeks, "we will be delivering six million Biontech cans from tomorrow alone," explained Spahn.
Due to this massive demand, “our Biontech warehouse is currently running empty”.
"And it is simply the case that at the moment (...) - that is, from the week after next, when the big delivery was now - I don't have more than two to three million vaccine doses of Biontech available." He admitted: "We had we still have to communicate more clearly. ”But
there is a good, just as effective alternative with the vaccine from Moderna.
"Well, the key message is: there is enough vaccine," stressed Spahn.
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Jens Spahn (CDU), Acting Federal Minister for Health.
© Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Jens Spahn * wants to speak from 10 a.m. at a press conference announced at short notice in Berlin on vaccination with Moderna and Biontech.
Two vaccine experts will be there: the head of the research group for infection immunology and vaccine research at the Berlin Charité, Leif Erik Sander, and the president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, Klaus Cichutek.
Corona vaccination: Limitations on order quantities for the Biontech vaccine
In a letter to the federal states, the Federal Ministry of Health announced that it would limit the amount of orders for the Biontech vaccine for the next few weeks. For this, the preparation from Moderna is to be used more frequently for booster vaccinations. As a justification, reference was also made to the fact that otherwise from the middle of the 1st quarter of 2022 stored Moderna cans threatened to expire. Biontech's vaccine currently accounts for over 90 percent of orders.
For the time being, practices should be able to order a maximum of 30 doses of Biontech per week, vaccination centers and mobile vaccination teams 1020 doses.
There should be no upper limits for orders from Moderna.
By the end of the year there will be enough vaccine for everyone with a total of around 24 million doses from Biontech and 26 million from Moderna.
Federal states and medical representatives sharply criticized the announcement.
The booster vaccinations are now picking up speed, there are concerns that the Biontech cap could slow it down.
Biontech cap: criticism from FDP and CDU
Meanwhile, the criticism of the announcement continued. According to the health policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group *, Christine Aschenberg Dugnus, Spahn “did not do himself or the vaccination campaign a favor with his announcement”. "We do not need a new discussion about vaccines, we have to vaccinate as much as possible," she told the world (Monday). "Due to the chaos that has been created, the doctors now have additional educational work that would be better used with vaccinations."
The Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) spoke on Sunday evening in the ARD program “Anne Will” of a “completely wrong signal”.
It is a huge problem, "if we join forces at the moment to vaccinate" that the most popular vaccine in Germany is then limited in its availability.
His expectation of the federal government is "that we will now do everything we can to have enough of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine available".
Corona vaccination: hesitation and uncertainty feared due to Biontech deficiency
Medical representatives had pointed out many practical problems the decision could pose.
It is feared that people who have already agreed on booster vaccinations with Biontech might hesitate if they are offered Moderna, and that in the practices, a lot of inquiries and rebookings will result in significant extra work.
Moderna is also only recommended for people over 30 and not for pregnant women.
The Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl, emphasized that the vaccines from Moderna and Biontech are almost "identical".
"It is therefore not a problem for most people if they now get Moderna instead of Biontech, regardless of whether it is a first vaccination or a booster *," he told the German press agency.
(sot with dpa)
* fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
List of rubric lists: © Kay Nietfeld / dpa
