The prospect of approval of this vaccine should significantly increase the number of vaccinations again. The vaccination campaign in Germany has been progressing slowly for months. Also because many Germans have apparently been waiting for the new substances.
The federal government plans to start the adapted vaccines in early September. Subject to the expected EU-wide approval, around 14 million doses from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna, which are adapted to the Omicron variant BA.1, are to come in the two weeks starting September 5th. This emerges from a letter from Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), which is available to the Handelsblatt.
Specifically, the Ministry of Health expects five million doses of the BA.1 vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer in the first two weeks of September. The manufacturer Moderna is expected to deliver 1.65 million doses of BA.1 vaccine in the first week and 2.38 million doses in the second week. The preparations are to be delivered directly to pharmaceutical wholesalers.
Service providers such as medical practices and vaccination centers should then be able to order the two vaccines for the first time on September 5th and receive them by September 12th at the latest. Medical practices can order up to 240 doses of the BA.1 vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer per week. There is no maximum order quantity for Moderna.
The Federal Minister of Health is hoping for the adapted vaccines in the vaccination campaign.
(Photo: Reuters)
According to the letter, the European approval authority Ema should also approve the vaccine from Pfizer/Biontech, which has been adapted to the variants BA.4 and BA.5, at the end of September or beginning of October. Then Germany should be supplied quickly with a first tranche of 9.5 million cans.
Where can I get vaccinated with the new corona vaccines?
People who want to get the new vaccines can get them from GP surgeries, immunization centers, and mobile immunization teams.
Who should be vaccinated with the new corona vaccines?
According to Health Minister Lauterbach, risk groups should already be vaccinated with the available vaccines – “even if another vaccine will probably only be available a few weeks later”. The Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko) also advises not to postpone an upcoming vaccination because of the adapted vaccine.
The panel is currently working on an updated recommendation with the adapted vaccines. Statutory health insurance physicians insist that this will be available soon. “Because it forms the scientific guideline that doctors use for orientation,” said the deputy chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Stephan Hofmeister, to the Handelsblatt.
The epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs considers the booster vaccination with the new vaccines to be useful for younger people too. A booster vaccination has been shown to reduce “the occurrence of long-Covid courses,” he told the Handelsblatt. “And this refresher should be done promptly so that the best possible individual protection is achieved before the expected pandemic wave in autumn and winter,” he said.
The health policy spokesman for the Greens, Janosch Dahmen, told the Handelsblatt that at least younger people without risk factors can get advice from their doctor, regardless of the Stiko recommendation, whether they should wait for the adapted vaccines.
The Stiko currently recommends basic immunization and a first booster vaccination for people between the ages of 12 and 60. The Commission recommends the second booster vaccination for people aged 60 and over. A booster vaccination should be given at least six months after the last vaccine dose or infection.
Variants BA.1. and BA.5: Which of the Adapted Omicron Vaccines Should One Choose?
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the omicron subline BA.5 is currently predominant in Germany. It now accounts for more than 90 percent of infections and is considered to be even easier to transmit. The American approval authority FDA has therefore only approved the BA.5 booster.
According to study data, however, the previously available vaccine adapted to BA.1 works significantly better against the BA.5 variant than first-generation vaccines.
Biontech founder Uğur Şahin told the “Spiegel” that there was basically no huge difference between his company’s two vaccines that were adapted to the subvariants. “Both have shown in studies that they produce a clearly superior antibody response to omicron compared to the original vaccine.”
How many doses of the adapted vaccine are needed?
The Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (ZI) assumes that around 20 million vaccine doses will be needed for the upcoming vaccination season. The deliveries now announced should cover this need. If the Stiko also recommends the fourth vaccination for people under 60 years of age, up to 60 million vaccine doses would be necessary. At the moment, however, there is less concern that the demand cannot be met and more that not enough people are being vaccinated.
“We are very well positioned for the vaccination campaign in autumn and winter with the adapted vaccines,” said Green politician Dahmen. “I assume that the quantity supplied will be sufficient to meet the demand.” One challenge, however, will be to sensitize people to the vaccination. “At the moment too many people are still waiting to refresh their vaccination protection, which could be dangerous with a view to autumn and winter.”
If we succeed in getting “the largest possible number” in the group of over 60-year-olds to receive a booster vaccination before the start of autumn, “we would be on the right track,” he said. “That would not be the end of the vaccination campaign, but it would be an important basis for autumn and winter.” Currently, only around six percent in this age group have received a second booster vaccination.
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