The police are investigating an employee of the Friesland vaccination center. She is said to have replaced the corona vaccine with saline solution in many vaccinations.
Update from Thursday, August 12th, 2021, 4:25 p.m.: Around 9,000 people are said to have received saline solution instead of the corona vaccine from Biontech. These allegations are made against at least a 40-year-old nurse who worked in a vaccination center in Lower Saxony.
The accused’s lawyer, Christoph Klatt, rejected the allegations from the police and the Friesland district on Thursday (August 12, 2021). His client did not pull up any syringes with saline solution, he told the German Press Agency (dpa). Rather, according to her own statement, she should have used vaccine residues from other ampoules. She had previously broken an ampoule. She wanted to collect the rest of the vaccine. However, for fear of losing her job, she wanted to cover it up. A spokesman for the Oldenburg public prosecutor’s office confirmed that the woman had provided the information described. Why this was not communicated beforehand remained open at first.
Corona vaccination scandal in Lower Saxony: nurse is said to have forged vaccination pass
According to witnesses, the police reported that it could not be ruled out that the woman had drawn up the syringes with saline solution. Accordingly, some people might not have adequate corona vaccination protection. Therefore, 8,557 residents who have visited the vaccination center in Friesland are to be re-vaccinated.
In addition, according to the Oldenburg public prosecutor, there is a suspicion that the nurse from Lower Saxony may have manipulated her vaccination card and a replacement document. However, the accused’s lawyer also contradicts this at this point. According to his own statement, his client was vaccinated against Covid-19.
Corona in Lower Saxony: employees swap vaccine with saline solution?
First report from Tuesday, August 10th, 2021: Jever – A vaccination scandal in the Friesland district in Lower Saxony made big headlines in April. After an employee of the Friesland vaccination center admitted that she had filled six syringes with saline solution instead of the Biontech vaccine, the police in Lower Saxony are now assuming that significantly more people than initially assumed could be affected.
The extent of the scandal can now be guessed at: “It is about a total of 8,557 people who may have received no vaccination protection in whole or in part, although they assume so,” said Friesland’s District Administrator Sven Ambrosy (SPD) at a press conference on Tuesday (August 10, 2021 ) in Jever.
It affects 9,673 vaccinations that were injected between March 5 and April 20, 2021. All those affected will now be written to by the district of Friesland in order to catch up on any vaccinations that may have been missing.
After corona vaccination with saline solution: employee is silent on the allegations
At the end of April, the employee had already confessed that she had filled six syringes with saline solution instead of the Biontech vaccine. According to the police, the reason she had given was that a vial with the vaccine had fallen down while mixing, which she then wanted to cover up.
When this became known, more than 100 people who were vaccinated that day were initially screened with antibody tests to check whether they were vaccinated. Therefore, according to the police, the suspicion of further cases is in the room. Groups with priority two and people over 70 years of age are particularly affected.
Corona in Lower Saxony: The motive of the scandal surrounding saline solution vaccinations is still unclear
The deputy head of the Wilhelmshaven / Friesland police station, Peter Beer, confirmed at the press conference on Tuesday that, according to witness statements, it can be assumed “with a high degree of probability” that other people received saline solutions instead of the vaccine within the period. “We have well-founded suspicions of danger,” said Beer. The employee is now silent on the allegations.
The exact motif is also still unclear. However, Beer confirmed reports that had already become known, according to which the accused shared posts on the Internet before the scandal in which the government’s corona measures were criticized. In addition, the employee distributed “corona-critical information” via a chat, said Beer. (Carolin Eberth and Karolin Schaefer with dpa)
Picture list: © Mohssen Assanimoghaddam / dpa
