Action against Corona: is Spahn starting a dispute with the STIKO?

Further upheavals are emerging between the Standing Vaccination Commission STIKO and the Federal Ministry of Health.

In view of the delays in the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, the outgoing Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has spoken out in favor of changing the procedures for introducing new vaccines in Germany.

In doing so, he also questioned the role of the STIKO.

"I just believe that the very important instrument of the Standing Vaccination Commission is not suitable for pandemic times," said Spahn at his weekly Corona press conference with the President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler, to which the STIKO also belongs.

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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So far it has been regulated in such a way that after the approval of a vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the Standing Vaccination Commission meets and advises whether and in what form it advises its use.

In the past, this has led to uncertainty and delays, and in some cases the STIKO has revised previous recommendations.

Spahn praised the science committee.

It does a good job, and it does it on a voluntary basis, he is very grateful for that.

"This scientific expertise and work is available in a few other countries in the world," said Spahn.

"The only question is whether, in a pandemic and health crisis, a different mechanism for recommendations on vaccination than the conventional one might be needed."

STIKO advises on child vaccinations

For its part, the STIKO did not spare its criticism of politics. "We would like to be often faster," said STIKO member Martin Terhardt on Friday on Deutschlandfunk. There is a lack of staff in the STIKO office at the RKI, which works for the volunteer specialists. The RKI is subordinate to Spahn's house and is financed from there. The scientists employed in the office were all working to their limits, the office was “completely overwhelmed in terms of personnel,” complained Terhardt. A firm will is required to solve this “structural issue”. The upcoming government may be ready to tackle that.

Spahn is not aware of the equipment deficiencies according to his own statements. He announced that he would call the STIKO boss Thomas Mertens about this. Spahn pointed out that with the EMA approval and the resolutions of the Conference of Health Ministers, comprehensive corona vaccinations are permissible for defined groups, for example, the booster for over-sixty-year-olds since September. The vaccination ordinance regulates both the right to the "boosters" and the remuneration of doctors. The questions of liability are also clearly regulated.

Nevertheless, the campaign did not make progress at first because doctors and vaccinees hesitated. They apparently viewed the boosting with the caveat: "Only if the STIKO recommends." That was "not a good situation," warned Spahn. "And that is one of the points that has led to the fact that we were simply not fast enough with the booster vaccinations in a time in September when we could still have been." The minister repeated, however, that he said that "without reproach “, The STIKO is not responsible for the structures.

The panel currently has to decide whether to recommend the children's vaccine against Covid-19, approved by the EMA on Thursday, for children aged five to eleven.

This time she has enough time, as the vaccine will not be available until December 20th anyway, due to different mixing ratios and dose sizes.

The pediatrician Terhardt does not expect a general STIKO recommendation for the children's vaccine, but initially only for risk cases, "for children who really need it urgently."

Spahn criticizes the traffic light parties

At the press conference, Wieler and Spahn warned urgently of the spread of the infection, of a possible overload of the intensive care units with Covid patients and of more deaths.

The minister warned that the pandemic has not yet reached its peak.

In the past two days there have been 150,000 new infections.

Even if there weren't any more, 1000 additional intensive care patients could be expected in ten days: "That has already been decided."