Suddenly more popular than ever: The Astrazeneca vaccine is currently very popular with the German population. In the meantime, vaccination doses of the active ingredient are even becoming scarce.
It was a constant back and forth with the Astrazeneca vaccine. At first it should only be used for people under 65 years of age. Then suddenly it was better suited for people over 65. And since the prioritization has now been lifted, Astrazeneca has gone from being a slow seller to a vaccine hit.
Astrazeneca is more popular than ever – Merkel, Steinmeier and Co. as role models
“The Astrazeneca vaccine is in such high demand that the quantities provided are no longer sufficient,” said Thomas Preis, head of the North Rhine Pharmacists’ Association, to the Rheinische Post , thus making the image change of the vaccine clear once again. Politicians such as Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel also contributed to this. Both were vaccinated with Astrazeneca – just like NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU): “If it is good enough for me, it should also be good for others,” he said on Wednesday (May 12th) and appealed to the population – especially those over 60 – to be vaccinated with it as well.
However, this change in image also has negative side effects. The wholesalers cannot master the demand. The orders that doctors placed through pharmacies had to be reduced by 80 percent, according to Thomas Preis. A completely new situation regarding the Astrazeneca vaccine. “Many doctors are very angry because existing vaccination appointments must now be canceled,” the head of the North Rhine Pharmacists’ Association told the Rheinische Post .
Falling delivery numbers mean fewer vaccination options. 862,000 cans of Astrazeneca were delivered to doctors’ offices this week. This emerges from an overview by the Federal Ministry of Health. Next week, only 843,000 cans will be delivered. “The deliveries from Astrazeneca are also not known to us for a long period of time,” said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health. The British manufacturer of the vaccine usually makes very short notice of new deliveries.
Much more Astrazeneca vaccinations – thanks to legal certainty and a shorter deadline
Nevertheless, Germany is well on the way to implementing the vaccination campaign. According to the Robert Koch Institute on Friday (May 14th), 1,353,453 syringes were placed on Wednesday, May 12th, and 408,260 on Ascension Day. One reason: Doctors now have legal security when vaccinating the Astrazeneca active ingredient. In some cases, resident doctors had hesitated to give the vaccine to under 60-year-olds because the liability for possible vaccine damage had not been clarified. The federal government has now made it clear that the doctors do not take any liability risk.
The changed period between the first and second dose also led to an increase in Astrazeneca vaccinations. So far, the recommendation has been to wait twelve weeks between the two vaccinations. Now the second dose can be injected after four weeks. “The shortening of the vaccination intervals to four weeks makes the vaccine attractive to young people. Young people want to be well prepared for the upcoming easing by a complete vaccination protection ”, explained pharmacist Preis.
Headline list image: © Matthias Bein
