Vaccine priority decision from Germany: date given

Beginning Monday, 7 June in Germany, priority application for vaccines against the coronavirus will be phased out, and vaccination will be possible for all people 12 years of age and older. In addition to vaccination centers, vaccinations can be done by doctors affiliated with doctors’ offices and businesses.

Physicians in Germany are concerned that with the abolition of the priority system in vaccination, the practices of those who wish to be vaccinated will be “flooded”. In his statement to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, the president of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Practitioners Andreas Gassen said he expected an “influx of clinics” and called on those who want to be vaccinated, “Please be patient, do not pressurize physicians.” and their teams and health workers”.

“Everyone will be vaccinated as soon as possible. However, not everyone will be at the same time,” Gassen said, adding that although the current amount of vaccine is being increased steadily, there are not enough doses yet. .

decision-making

While the priority in vaccination has been removed in Germany, the plan to vaccinate children 12 years of age and older is also controversial. Gassen, president of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Practitioners, criticized the notion that children and young people would also have the opportunity to be vaccinated by Monday, with statements made by politicians, despite the fact that the Permanent Immunization Commission (Stico) is in this direction. There is no recommendation.

With the removal of the vaccine priority, everyone 12 years of age and older is given the opportunity to be vaccinated, but this has yet to be announced by the Permanent Immunization Commission within the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), an authority in the fight against the pandemic. is. Recommendations on vaccination of children. The commission is expected to announce its recommendations on immunization of children aged 12 to 15 years shortly. It is anticipated that the commission will not recommend general vaccination for this age group.

insufficient vaccine amount

Virologist Melanie Brinkmann of the Braunschweig Helmholtz Center told the Rhenish Post, however, that the priority should be on the vaccination of adults. Noting that studies on immunization of children are still insufficient, Brinkman also emphasized that the amount of vaccine is still insufficient to vaccinate all children.

While German Health Minister Jens Spahn says it is possible to offer vaccination to anyone over the age of 12 by the end of August, virologist Brinkmann is skeptical about whether the government will be able to deliver on its promise. Because there is not enough vaccine available. Brinkman said, “Providing a vaccine opportunity does not confer immunity,” and emphasized that “vaccination is really necessary” for immunity against the coronavirus.

Why was the priority removed?

According to the information given on the website of the Ministry of Health, in view of the progress being made in the vaccination campaign in the country, the priority in the vaccine has been removed. In addition, the fact that more vaccines can now be supplied than in the first months of the vaccination campaign was cited as a reason for removing the priority.

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, more than 780,000 doses of the vaccine were given in Germany on June 4. In Germany, where about 17 lakh 241 thousand people have been vaccinated, 20.7% of the population has been vaccinated. About 38 lakh 800 thousand people received at least one dose of the vaccine. This is 45.4% of the population.

The vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in Germany began on 27 December, and the first priority group included people over the age of 80 and those working in the emergency room, intensive care and elderly care services.