MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-10-30 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] German Vaccinations to start this year
|
Germany Aims to Start Coronavirus Vaccination This Year
Bojan Pancevski
9-12 minutes
BERLIN—Germany could be one of the first Western countries to start
immunizing people against Covid-19 under a plan being rolled out by the
government and a German company that is testing a vaccine, according to
people with knowledge of the strategy.
The plan is for doses of the vaccine now being held in central storage
in Germany to be shipped to more than 60 regional vaccination centers
within hours of the substance being approved.
This could happen before the end of the year depending on the results of
clinical trials now in their final stages and approval by the European
Medicines Agency, the European Union’s equivalent of the Food and Drug
Administration.
Initial recipients would include health-care workers, the elderly,
clinically vulnerable people, law-enforcement officials and people
living in crowded conditions, according to lists being drawn up by
Germany’s state governments, with the general public coming several
months later.
STAY INFORMED
Get a coronavirus briefing six days a week, and a weekly Health
newsletter once the crisis abates: Sign up here.
The preparations contrast with the U.S., where states have expressed
concerns that the federal government has yet to answer critical
questions about how many doses each state will get, how these will be
distributed and who would be eligible for the initial jabs.
One reason for Germany’s head-start: It is home to BioNTech SE, one of
the front-runners in the quest to develop a safe and effective vaccine
against the virus. The company is testing a jab in partnership with
Pfizer Inc. that it hopes to submit for authorization in November.
It is also working with German regional health authorities to set up
vaccination centers across the country and deploy mobile vaccination
teams to nursing homes or remote rural areas, according to German
government officials and BioNTech representatives. It will also train
medical workers in how to store and administer the vaccine.
BioNTech has begun storing doses of the vaccine at a secret transport
hub managed by an unidentified logistics company from where the shots
will be ferried to the centers located in Germany’s 16 states
immediately after approval, a company spokesperson said.
France, Germany Impose Lockdown Measures as Coronavirus Cases Rise
0:00 / 2:12
1:44
France, Germany Impose Lockdown Measures as Coronavirus Cases Rise
France, Germany Impose Lockdown Measures as Coronavirus Cases Rise
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
announced new lockdown measures Wednesday, as Europe sees mounting cases
and deaths related to the coronavirus. Photo: Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty
Images
One reason authorities opted for dedicated centers instead of relying on
doctors’ and hospitals is that they are easier to secure and monitor,
guarding against both theft and the vaccination of non-eligible
recipients, according to a German health ministry official.
BioNTech and Pfizer are already producing millions of doses to be able
to deliver on pre-purchasing contracts. BioNTech says that they will be
able to supply German authorities with vaccines hours after they get
authorization.
But the companies will be able to deliver only a limited amount in the
initial phase. So the government is rushing to draft rules governing who
will get the first shots. Eligible recipients will need an appointment
to get a jab, the ministry official said.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
How should vaccine distributors prioritize and ensure equality? Join the
conversation below.
Bavaria, Germany’s second-most populous state, has some of the most
advanced vaccination plans. It aims to inject vulnerable groups such as
the elderly, people with chronic conditions, and employees and residents
of nursing homes first, followed by medical staff, police officers and
firefighters. Nearly 2,000 Bavarian doctors have already signed up to help.
A nationwide information campaign will explain the procedure and the
rationale behind the prioritization of certain groups, according to two
government officials. The effects of the vaccination will be closely
monitored and recipients will be asked to enter any symptoms or side
effects in an app that will be launched together with the jabs, the
health ministry said.
Not all European governments are as advanced with their vaccine plans.
Italy has said it would vaccinate health-care workers, police and people
with health risks first, but the government hasn’t decided yet whether
it will distribute the vaccines through family doctors, hospitals or
dedicated centers.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin last week. The government
estimates it will take about seven months to vaccinate all would-be
recipients in Germany.
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Spain has created a working group of central and regional governments
that will draft the country’s vaccination strategy. As in Germany, the
regions will oversee distribution and maintain a national vaccination
registry.
The U.K. government has secured access to 350 million doses across six
vaccines. A government official said that the country was ensuring that
vaccines were being manufactured now so that they can be deployed when
regulatory approval is received. However that process could take several
months as the logistical challenges to acquire enough doses and inject
people are huge.
Officials are working on creating mass vaccination sites where thousands
could receive the shot. Rules have been changed allowing a wider array
of people to administer a vaccine including physiotherapists and student
nurses.
On Tuesday, Kate Bingham, the head of the U.K. government’s Vaccine
Taskforce, said that a jab may be approve before year-end and rolled out
by Christmas. Though she cautioned that it was more likely to be next year.
She also warned of a manufacturing roadblock. Britain’s access to the
vaccine is limited by the country’s production capacity. Earlier this
month the government announced that two temporary vaccine manufacturing
hubs would be online by the end of October capable of producing tens of
millions of doses. A larger permanent facility is due to open in 2021.
Commuters in Frankfurt this week. Initial vaccine recipients would
include health-care workers, the elderly and clinically vulnerable people.
Photo: Michael Probst/Associated Press
Back in Germany, the centers will be equipped with cooling facilities.
The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine can be stored at temperatures of up to 8
degrees Celsius for a week while for longer periods they must be kept at
a temperature of -75 degrees.
Germany will be supplied both vaccines via the EU, which has preordered
200 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. The doses will be
delivered over the course of several months and Germany will receive at
least 30 million extra vaccines under a bilateral deal with BioNTech,
according to officials familiar with the plans.
Newsletter Sign-up
Coronavirus Daily Briefing and Health Weekly
Get an early-morning briefing about the coronavirus each weekday and a
weekly Health newsletter when the crisis abates.
Government officials estimate it would take about seven months to
vaccinate everyone in Germany who wishes to do so.
Just over 50% of Germans would be willing to get a vaccine according to
a study by the Hamburg Center for Health Economics. This mirrors similar
numbers in other European countries.
“People who oppose vaccination are mainly those who feel their health is
not endangered by corona, and those who have no trust in the information
policy of their government,” Jonas Schreyögg, head of the institute, said.
—Max Colchester in London and Giovanni Legorano in Rome contributed to
this article.
Write to Bojan Pancevski at bojan.pancevski-at-wsj.com
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
_______________________________________________
Hangout mailing list
Hangout-at-nylxs.com
http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
|
|
