Corona vaccinations can now also take place in the reopened vaccination centers.
(Photo: dpa)
It’s true, the timing is unfortunate. Limiting the order quantities for the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine a few days after the “Boostern für alle” call does not go down well. Especially not with the doctors and their patients, who may now have to cancel or postpone fixed vaccination appointments.
And, yes, the Ministry of Health could have communicated happier and better explained the planned rationing. After all, the managing department head Jens Spahn knows that Biontech is the Germans’ favorite vaccine and that in the eyes of many, the vaccine bears the seal of approval made in Germany.
But the recommendation to administer the Moderna vaccine, which is abundantly in stock, in addition to Biontech is certainly not a scandal. On the contrary: It would be a sacrilege to let millions of Moderna doses expire while in many parts of the world there is not even enough vaccine available for first and second vaccinations.
Every citizen can and should be vaccinated in order to protect themselves and others and to avert the threatening overload of the health system.
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And there will be no shortage of vaccines for the almost 30 million booster vaccinations that are to be administered by the end of the year.
The organization of the vaccinations must now be pushed ahead with high pressure
What is not available in the worst case is the free choice of which vaccine is used for the booster. But that’s not a drama either. The vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and the US manufacturer Moderna hardly differ in terms of effectiveness and safety.
Or to put it in the words of Minister Spahn: If the vaccines were cars, you would have the choice between Mercedes or Rolls-Royce.
So Germany is indulging in a luxury debate at an inopportune time. Instead of philosophizing about Biontech or Moderna or criticizing Minister Spahn, politicians like Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder should rather ensure that the booster vaccination comes to people quickly, regardless of the vaccine.
There is still enough to be organized in the federal and state levels – from mobile vaccination teams in retirement homes to reactivating vaccination centers to including pharmacists or dentists in the vaccination campaign.
It remains important for the future that the vaccine supply is reliably guaranteed and that there are no delivery bottlenecks. It doesn’t matter whether it says Moderna or Biontech / Pfizer on the package.
More: Spahn: By the end of winter “pretty much everyone will be vaccinated, recovered or died”