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Berlin (dpa) - In the USA, the corona vaccine from the US corporation Johnson & Johnson is approved - in the EU and thus also in Germany, approval is expected in mid-March.
At the same time, the backlog of existing vaccines is growing in Germany.
The EU Medicines Agency (EMA) expects the results of its ongoing tests of the new vaccine in mid-March.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, Germany receives 36.7 million doses from the EU.
The preparation unfolds its full effect after administration of one dose and - unlike the other vaccines used - does not have to be injected twice.
Similar to the vaccine from Astrazeneca, the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has a lower efficacy than that of Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna according to previous study results.
In Germany, large quantities of Astrazeneca are still piling up in the fridges of the federal states.
According to the RKI, only 364,000 doses had been vaccinated by Friday.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, more than 1.4 million doses were delivered.
Another 1.7 million Astrazeneca cans were planned for the coming days since Saturday.
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At the same time, there has been a heated debate over the past few days about who should get the vaccines, which are still scarce overall.
The countries proceed differently.
In Baden-Württemberg, for example, teachers and kindergarten teachers could make vaccination appointments - but not cancer patients and people over 70 years of age.
In Berlin, however, people over 70 were invited to be vaccinated.
Why large amounts of Astrazeneca vaccine are wasted has been unclear for days.
Some see the main reasons in a lack of organization of vaccinations in the countries - others in the negative attitude of many people towards this preparation.
With an effectiveness of 70 to 80 percent lower values than the vaccines from Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer.
According to a proposal by the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) should be vaccinated with the preparation live on television.
This is to counteract the skepticism about the vaccine, as he told the British BBC.
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It is already foreseeable that the Standing Vaccination Commission will also recommend the vaccine for people over 65, said Watzl.
It is not yet approved for this group due to a lack of study data.
"If Angela Merkel were to go on live television at this point and be vaccinated with the vaccine, it would of course be great," said the immunologist.
The Astrazeneca vaccine is purely a PR problem.
The federal and state governments admittedly want the fastest possible progress in vaccination.
Because as a result, fewer people should die from or with Covid-19 or become seriously ill.
Vaccination is also considered the only measure to contain the pandemic altogether.
At their next crisis meeting on Wednesday, the federal and state governments want to make lockdown easing primarily dependent on corona tests.
Because vaccine is not yet widely available.
Germany's statutory health insurance doctors have been putting pressure on the federal states to reduce the bureaucracy of their vaccination programs and involve doctors beyond the vaccination centers as early as possible.
According to their calculations, more than two million additional first vaccinations could be injected by Easter if no more vaccination doses are set aside for second vaccinations.
By the start of the summer holidays in the first countries, it could even be more than 7.5 million.
According to this, 58 percent of the population could then receive at least one vaccination - not 47 percent, as previously planned.
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According to the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, increasing vaccination capacities, for example by involving resident doctors, will be even more urgent if the vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and the manufacturer Curevac are approved.
The EU Commission has ordered vaccination doses for 200 million people from Johnson & Johnson.
It also has the option of sufficient amounts for another 200 million people.
At the beginning of February, Johnson & Johnson applied to the FDA for emergency approval for the corona vaccine developed by its pharmaceuticals division.
The application to the EU Medicines Agency EMA followed in mid-February.
According to an interim result of the Phase III study with around 44,000 test subjects, the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson offers 66 percent protection against moderate or severe Covid 19 disease courses four weeks after administration.
The effectiveness against serious illnesses was given with 85 percent.
The percentages mean that there were fewer cases in the vaccinated test group than in the placebo test group.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210228-99-631158 / 2
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