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The virologist Christian Drosten considers fundamental concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine to be unfounded and is in favor of widespread use of the preparation.
He sees no reason not to inject the vaccine from Swedish-British production in Germany, said the Charité virologist in the “Coronavirus Update” podcast on Tuesday at NDR-Info.
When he looks at the public discussion about this vaccine, he has the impression that a lot has been misunderstood.
The vaccine from AstraZeneca is less effective than the other two vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna approved in Germany.
It was also recently announced that the AstraZeneca preparation, in a variant initially discovered in South Africa, is less likely to protect against mild and moderate courses of Covid-19.
However, Drosten sees some limitations in the study.
In addition, he considers the variant from Great Britain (B.1.1.7) to be particularly relevant for Germany, as he explained.
Their share is growing in this country, as in other countries.
New data from the Robert Koch Institute are expected this week.
According to a study, B.1.1.7 does not mean any disadvantage for the protective effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to Drosten.
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In connection with the lower effectiveness, there are reports of a lower willingness to vaccinate with the vaccine.
The Saarland Minister of Health, Monika Bachmann, criticized the fact that 54 percent of 200 people registered for a vaccination did not show up at the weekend for a “special vaccination in the medical field” without canceling the appointment.
The chairman of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, spoke out against an Astrazeneca vaccination for medical staff because of the lower effectiveness in the "Rheinische Post" - the problems could not be "discussed away".
Drosten, however, said: "We have to do everything we can to vaccinate as quickly as possible." The available vaccines are extremely good compared to what could be expected.
"There's always a fly in the ointment somewhere, and some people look at it with a magnifying glass."
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Drosten also highlighted the simpler storage conditions - minus 70 degrees are not necessary - for the AstraZeneca vaccine compared to the Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna products.
"With this you can achieve a breakthrough in pandemic protection for the population."
Will you be able to choose your vaccine?
The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, told the "Rheinische Post": "All vaccines have passed a regular approval process and are highly effective." For the next few months it is foreseeable that not enough vaccines will be available.
“That is why priority must be given.
As long as that is the case, there can be no choice. "
However, there is still no schedule for vaccinating children and adolescents.
"It is not yet possible to predict when Covid-19 vaccines will be approved for use in children and adolescents in the European Union," replied the Ministry of Health to a written question from Stephan Thomae, member of the Bundestag FDP.
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In the answer, which is available to the German Press Agency, it goes on: “Clinical trials with approved Covid-19 vaccines, which include children and adolescents, have partially started after the entries in the study register in the USA or are planned shortly. "
FDP parliamentary group vice Thomae criticized: "If the federal government promises that all people will be offered a vaccination by the end of the summer, that obviously does not include children and adolescents." A vaccine for the youngest would be desirable.
Above all, families with previously ill children must be offered prospects for these children to return to daycare centers and schools.