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The back and forth on Friday was perfect.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the use of the Covid-19 vaccine from the British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca with no age limit for all citizens over 18. The authority merely pointed out that there was not yet enough data on its effectiveness in older people to judge how effective the vaccine is on them.

The EMA thus contradicted the draft recommendation of the German Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), which had been published the day before and was confirmed again on Friday.

The Stiko had advocated that the vaccine in Germany should only be inoculated on people up to 65 years of age.

And now?

"Shoot ourselves in the knee right now"

The Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag supports the recommendation of the Stiko.

Health policy spokeswoman Karin Maag (CDU) told WELT: “I think the Stiko recommendation is absolutely right.

As long as there are no adequate studies with the participation of the older group of people, a corresponding age limit for the approval is logical. "

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Sharp criticism of the EMA's decision comes from the FDP parliamentary group.

“Stiko has checked the data seriously and professionally and has come to the right decision.

The EMA, on the other hand, 'expects' it to work for older people.

A highly unprofessional decision and dangerous for the EMA's credibility, ”said Andrew Ullmann, FDP chairman in the health committee.

"We as Europeans shoot ourselves in the knee when the EU and Germany go different ways."

The seat of the EMA (English: European Medicines Agency) in Amsterdam

Source: picture alliance / ROBIN UTRECHT

Completely different tones come from SPD health politician Karl Lauterbach.

“I am glad that the EMA has also approved the vaccine for older people.” Even if the group of over 65-year-olds in the studies was small, the vaccine was also highly effective for them based on previous studies and experience with others To run out of vaccines.

"The risk of dying from Covid-19 is 600 times higher for an 80-year-old than for a 30-year-old."

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So the vaccine must be used where it is needed.

But Lauterbach does not want to follow the EMA due to concerns about a decrease in vaccination readiness.

"We should now live with the decision of Stiko and follow it - so that the process does not damage the vaccination readiness and further devalues ​​the first-class vaccine from AstraZeneca."

How does Spahn decide?

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How Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) decides is open.

However, it is more likely that it will follow Stiko's recommendation than the EMA.

Speaking to journalists in the capital on Friday, the minister was optimistic that using the AstraZeneca vaccine only for those under 65 would not upset the vaccination schedule for those over 80.

A delivery of twelve million vaccine doses from the manufacturers Biontech and Moderna is currently planned for the first quarter.

With these doses, "the largest part of priority group one" could be offered a vaccination in the first quarter, according to Spahn.

According to the Standing Vaccination Commission, this includes 8.6 million people, 5.4 million of whom are over 80 years old.

The FDP and the Greens in the Bundestag also say that limited use of AstraZeneca will probably not hinder the schedule mentioned by Spahn.

Source: dpa;

Infographic WORLD / Jörn Baumgarten

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Germany expects AstraZeneca to deliver three million vaccine doses in February;

The final delivery plans should be available in the coming weeks.

Since the second dose of the vaccine is inoculated after nine to twelve weeks (with Biontech / Pfizer after three weeks), it would be possible that fewer doses would have to be set aside at the beginning than before.

This leads to the next question: Who would get those doses if all over 65-year-olds were to be excluded in the future?

For this purpose, the Standing Vaccination Commission - a committee of experts based at the Robert Koch Institute - would work out a recommendation in the following days that could ultimately become the basis for a new ordinance by the Federal Ministry of Health.

In this, the order of the people to be vaccinated would be adjusted and, for example, people with previous illnesses who actually belong to the second group would be preferred.

The FDP politician Ullmann advocates a clear division: "As long as there are bottlenecks, vaccines from Biontech and Moderna should only be inoculated to older people over 65 years of age." Moderna to reserve for the elderly.

What if the vaccination sequence changes?

The logistics and organization of a changed vaccination sequence could prove challenging in the following weeks.

Many federal states already seem overwhelmed by inviting people over 80 to an appointment for a vaccination.

If, for example, younger people were added who had a mental disability, they would first have to be identified as such by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the Greens parliamentary group warns of the British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer's image being damaged.

"The AstraZeneca vaccine is in a bad light due to the headlines of the last few days - this is also due to the non-transparent communication of the federal government," says Kordula Schulz-Asche, Greens reporter for infection control.

Now it is important to explain to the citizens that the lack of data on the vaccine in people over 65 cannot be equated with a lack of effectiveness.

The Federal Ministry of Health must have known this "for a while".

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