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It should be so far in December.

Then the first people in Germany will receive a vaccination against the coronavirus.

Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has promised that.

In view of this, the planning status for the largest vaccination campaign of all time still seems rudimentary.

Amazingly little can be learned about the construction of the planned 60 or so vaccination centers in the country and about which medical professionals should work there, how and when.

Even the much-touted list of those population groups to be vaccinated first is only vaguely worded.

The Standing Vaccination Commission wants to present details "by the end of the year".

That would then coincide with the start of the vaccinations, it might even come too late.

It is still completely unclear how the eligible patients should prove that they are allowed to receive the vaccination at all.

"Those to be vaccinated provide proof to the vaccination centers that they belong to a group of people to be vaccinated with priority.

The way in which this can be done is currently being worked out, ”said the Federal Ministry of Health when asked.

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Are complete examinations carried out in the vaccination centers?

In many cases this would be time-consuming, expensive and certainly disturbing for some patients.

Such a procedure would increase rather than weaken inhibitions about getting vaccinated.

There would be a doctor who knows his patients very well: the family doctor.

It is he who actually does vaccinations.

He knows the medical history of his patients.

Vaccination centers should have priority over general practitioners

Nevertheless, according to the Standing Vaccination Commission, which presented recommendations on the upcoming vaccination campaign two weeks ago, the family doctors are initially left out.

In the National Vaccination Strategy of the Ministry of Health as of November 6th, general practitioners and general practitioners are also not mentioned.

Minister Spahn has at least indicated that these doctors could issue vaccination permits.

Source: dpa;

Infographic WORLD / Jörn Baumgarten

The reasons given by the Vaccination Commission reads as follows: “For fundamental ethical and legal reasons, but also for pragmatic reasons, distribution that is as uniform and transparent as possible and thus arousing trust and ensuring acceptance is required.

That speaks in favor of a vaccination strategy that does not rely on individual GPs, but on vaccination centers mandated by the state. "

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The central argument that would actually speak in favor of including family doctors - the special relationship of trust with their patients - seem to be turned against them by the experts.

Are you afraid that the general practitioners could allow vaccinations to avoid the priority list?

At the press conference, Commission chairman Thomas Mertens also said: “You cannot impose prioritization on general practitioners.” This also means that discretionary decisions would not be possible.

Is logistics a compelling argument?

So there is no work being done on a model of how vaccination could be done right from the start.

It is also still unclear whether the family doctors can or should at least issue certificates.

The reason why you shouldn't vaccinate in the practices is due to the difficulties that the logistics of the vaccination brings with it.

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Accordingly, it was initially said that the vaccine from the companies Biontech / Pfizer must be transported and stored at around minus 70 degrees.

A doctor's office cannot guarantee that.

According to the latest reports, however, the vaccine should be stable for at least five days even at refrigerator temperatures.

The vaccine from Moderna should also be able to be stored in the refrigerator for at least 30 days.

The company AstraZeneca even promises a shelf life of six months under these conditions.

The throughput should also be high, especially in the first year.

Preparations for mass vaccinations are in full swing

With the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca, another company has presented positive data on a corona vaccine relevant for Europe.

Thousands of people are to be vaccinated every day by the end of December, but at the latest by the beginning of next year.

Source: WORLD

What also speaks against logistics as an exclusive criterion is that there should also be mobile vaccination teams in addition to the vaccination centers.

Methods for mobile deep freezing have been established for decades in veterinary medicine for storing bull sperm.

Here the operation is even carried out with far lower temperatures, namely minus 196 degrees.

The equipment fits in a trunk.

Why shouldn't that also work in doctors' offices?

"These people have to go to the family doctor"

Health politicians are in favor of not ignoring family doctors, but rather taking them into account early on when planning the vaccination campaign.

“I have no reason to distrust a family doctor.

If the number of vaccination doses is so small that only the prioritized groups can be vaccinated, then you have to prove a medical certificate.

These people have to go to the family doctor, that is clear, “said Georg Nüßlein, health politician of the CSU, WELT.

He expected the minister to present such a case.

Sabine Dittmar, health policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, sees it similarly: “The family doctors remain the contact persons for their patients in the first phase of the vaccination strategy and thus contribute to the successful implementation of the vaccination strategy.” Family doctors could issue referrals.

"It is clear, however, that the vaccination authorization will of course be checked in the vaccination center," said Dittmar.

"This also includes checking medical referrals or vaccination certificates for previous illnesses, which are issued by the responsible family doctor."

Source: Getty Images;

Infographic WORLD / Jörn Baumgarten

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Andrew Ullmann, health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group and himself an infectiologist, goes one step further.

He demands that the general practitioners should also carry out vaccinations in the practices.

“You are urgently needed as a partner right at the beginning of the vaccination campaign in order to implement the necessary high vaccination rates in a short time.

To degrade resident doctors to only issue certificates is therefore neither useful nor expedient. "

According to an internal survey by the professional association of German internists, 79 percent were in favor of vaccinations being carried out in practices.

So the doctors would want to.

“General practitioners and specialists in private practice in particular know the high-risk patients on site, so they too must be involved in the regional vaccination logistics,” says Ullmann.

The federal chairman of the German Association of General Practitioners, Ulrich Weigeldt, appeals to politicians not to leave any questions unanswered when prioritizing those eligible for vaccination.

“The prioritization must be transparent, clear and standardized across the country by politicians.

It must not be relocated to general practitioners' practices for the simple reason that we need the - already scarce - time in the practices to care for our patients. "

For the beginning, Weigeldt sees the vaccinations only in the vaccination centers.

But there is no consensus among the medical community about this.

The chairman of the North Rhine General Practitioners Association, Oliver Funken, told the "Rheinische Post" that the vaccination centers alone will not be able to cope with the vaccination.

“You can't avoid the doctors in private practice when distributing it.” Even if the requirements for the vaccine are high, he says: “We can do it.

We gave 20 million doses of the flu vaccine in two months. "

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