Refreshment of the corona vaccination – Doctors anticipate a dramatic scenario

In Germany, many are still waiting for their first corona vaccination – the question about the first booster is already loud. Medical officers accuse politics of lack of plan.

33.3 percent – that’s how many people in Germany have now received at least one dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus. Almost 10 percent of the total population is already fully immunized. That makes 35.7 million vaccine doses administered. But anyone who previously thought that two vaccine doses from BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca were completely sufficient, is wrong. As reported by echo24.de *, refreshments are probably necessary for all vaccines.

And they could be needed sooner than expected. Because scientists have so far assumed a six-month vaccination protection. That would mean that the booster vaccinations would have to be started in autumn at the latest – more likely from the end of June or the beginning of July. That is why the Federal Association of Official Doctors is now calling for a concept from politicians.

Corona vaccination: refresher courses are due soon – what is the plan?

Ute Teichert, the chairwoman of the association, accuses German politics of lack of plan. She explained to the Rheinische Post : “On the part of politics, I don’t hear […] any suggestions as to how this should be organized, it rather seems as if politics ran into such a situation without a plan.” – are already preparing for the booster vaccinations.

Teichert also fears that the German vaccination system will be completely overwhelmed in the summer. Because in parallel to the third vaccination, the children’s vaccinations against the coronavirus * will soon be due. According to their own information, the vaccine manufacturers BioNTech / Pfizer applied to the European Medicines Agency for approval of their corona vaccine for children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 in April. Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) has announced approval by June at the latest.

Corona vaccination: Child vaccinations are also pending – concept required

And not only the kids in this age range should be vaccinated. According to Ute Teichert, vaccinations could also be given to significantly younger people from autumn. Then, according to Teichert’s warning, “the pressure from the population will increase significantly that we should finally start with the children and young people”.

Ute Teichert fears that chaos will break out by then at the latest. That is why she calls for the corona vaccination centers to continue operating beyond September and not to be closed. At the beginning of May, the debate arose to close the corona vaccination centers with the lifting of the prioritization. The chairman of the Medical Association warned urgently: “I consider it dangerous to declare functioning structures as obsolete models.”

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In addition, Teichert is of the opinion that politicians must bring themselves to deliberately involve the daycare centers and schools in the vaccination – and so-called vaccination consultations in health authorities can easily be reintroduced. Not much is necessary for this – a refrigerator, the vaccination material and a few additional specialists.

Corona vaccination: Some hurdles to be overcome in the German vaccination campaign

But as it goes on – the subject of vaccination remains highly explosive. The state of Baden-Württemberg has just announced that it will completely abandon the vaccination prioritization of general practitioners * from Monday (May 17) – that is, the rush for the few available vaccines will increase again. In addition, the European Union did not renew its contract with the vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca. That means: Thousands of vaccine doses less.

However, the Tübingen vaccine manufacturer CureVac * gives hope. According to its own information, the biotech company will soon finally receive approval for its mRNA vaccine. According to CureVac, they are currently in the final test phase. The final approval by the European Medicines Agency could take place in May. The federal government expects 27.5 million vaccine doses from the Tübingen manufacturer by the end of 2021.

It remains to be seen how the federal government will deal with all these hurdles and opportunities, and which concepts will ultimately be implemented. Because Ute Teichert is also of the opinion: “The vaccination will continue to accompany us for a long time.” * Echo24.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

List of rubric lists: © Andreas Arnold / dpa