display

The SPD-governed federal states demand clarification from Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) about the supply of vaccines in an extensive, four-page catalog of questions.

In the paper available to WELT, they ask detailed questions about procurement, production expansion and vaccination for 24 points.

They want to know, among other things, why the European Commission "ordered so few cans in advance and did not secure larger quantities of options" compared to other industrialized countries.

In addition, the SPD-led countries ask why an additional license production of the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer is not also possible in the EU.

On Tuesday morning, Spahn resolutely rejected criticism of the strategy for the corona vaccinations.

The vaccine doses currently available in Germany are “exactly the order of magnitude that I have been announcing for weeks” and that had also been discussed in the cabinet, he said in the ARD “Morgenmagazin” with a view to criticizing the coalition partner SPD.

display

Because of the relatively small number of available doses at first, vaccination must be prioritized, explained Spahn.

In nursing homes in particular, which is why the vaccinations are “a little more complex”, they are first turned on.

The minister said the debate is currently focused on the long-term goal of vaccinating as many people in Germany as possible.

But “intermediate goals” are also important.

"If we managed to vaccinate all residents in all nursing homes in January, that would make a real difference in this pandemic," emphasized Spahn.

Regarding the sharp criticism of SPD politicians such as Secretary General Lars Klingbeil of problems with corona vaccinations, Spahn said that in “this really difficult phase of the pandemic”, citizens “rightly expected unity and determination from their government”.

“It doesn't work well in such a phase to want to be both government and opposition at the same time,” accused the CDU politician of the SPD.

“Somehow it hasn't worked well for the SPD for 20 years.

I don't think things are going any better now in election year. "

"We're doing everything we can to make it happen as quickly as possible"

display

At the same time, the Minister of Health referred to efforts to procure more vaccine doses for Germany.

In addition, the authorities supported the construction of a new Biontech production plant in Marburg "very actively".

In addition, from his point of view, the use of five vaccination vials for six vaccinations should become the rule.

"We're doing everything we can to make it happen as quickly as possible," said Spahn.

“But I think we have to be realistic with each other.” The vaccination campaign started “pretty quickly”.

"The fact that we started our way out of the pandemic with vaccination should also give us confidence for 2021," advertised Spahn.

Germany has so far been supplied with around 1.3 million corona vaccination doses from the Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer.

Around 266,000 people have been vaccinated so far.

On Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states discussed how to proceed against the pandemic.

In addition to an extension of the lockdown, problems with the corona vaccinations will also come up.