Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) recommends that doctors in Germany inject all people aged 18 and over in Germany with a booster vaccination against the coronavirus before the deadline of six months after the last vaccination.
“The interval of six months for complete immunization for people over 18 years of age, as stipulated in the approval, is to be understood as a guideline which of course does not have to be adhered to to the exact day,” says a letter from Spahn and the chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen to all Contract doctors in Germany, which is available from the Tagesspiegel.
“You can therefore every patient from the age of 18, even if they do not belong to the risk groups according to the current STIKO recommendation such as older people, residents of care facilities as well as medical and nursing staff, vaccinate promptly and before the end of the six months at your own discretion“, Emphasize Spahn and Gassen.
Due to many vaccination breakthroughs, the pressure had recently increased to give the green light for so-called booster vaccinations well before the end of six months, despite the recommendations of the Standing Vaccination Commission.
More texts on vaccination:
“The respective vaccination decision is covered by the approval, secured by liability law and the corresponding claim is justified in the coronavirus vaccination ordinance of the federal government Want a booster vaccination according to this guideline “, is emphasized in the letter that was emailed to the doctors. “Let’s work together to strengthen the vaccination barrier against the virus.”
More money for doctors should accelerate “boosters”
So that significantly more family doctors offer first, double and booster vaccinations and also vaccinate more on weekends, since Tuesday they have now received 28 euros for each vaccination instead of 20 euros, as well as a weekend surcharge of 8 euros.
Since several million cans are now being ordered every week, the first family doctors are already referring to delivery problems, and they are sometimes overrun with appointment inquiries. Therefore, the federal-state summit will also be about creating more vaccination options as soon as possible.
Only four months as the vaccination interval?
Because of the breakthroughs in vaccination and the enormously high incidences, the pressure had recently increased to make the deadline more flexible. There is also agreement among the traffic light parties, one suggestion is to shorten the deadline to four months. “We should vaccinate everyone who was given a full basic immunization more than four months ago,” said the Green health politician Janosch Dahmen when asked by the Tagesspiegel.
The goal must be to achieve a million vaccinations a day. It is counterproductive if citizens at state vaccination centers are partially turned away if the six months have not yet been reached. Employer President Rainer Dulger had also emphasized at the beginning of the week that in the fight against breakthroughs in vaccination and many new infections, even among vaccinated people, there should now be no more strict adherence to six months for a booster vaccination. “Our company doctors finally need a clear signal that they can offer our employees the third vaccination.”
Dahmen emphasizes: “We need political pragmatism now.” However, there is no nationwide invitation management, the citizens have to take care of it completely themselves.
At AstraZeneca, protection disappears particularly quickly
Peter Nordström from the Swedish University of Umea recently presented a study called “Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccination Against Risk of Symptomatic Infection”, which has not yet been reviewed by independent experts. In this analysis of the data from almost 843,000 vaccinated and non-vaccinated people, it was noticeable that after a double vaccination with Astrazeneca, the protective effect decreased significantly after about four months.
With one dose of Astrazeneca and a second with Biontech, the protection was comparatively high even after six months. The cross-vaccination with vector vaccine plus mRNA vaccine apparently compensates for the decrease in the effect after four months. The protection seems to be a bit higher here than with two Biontech vaccinations.
So only with two Moderna vaccinations you are a little better. But overall, two vaccinations with Biontech or Moderna show that the protection can decrease significantly four to five months after the last vaccination.
Which booster experts advise
For the third corona vaccination (or the second for those who have taken the Johnson & Johnson single vaccination), the mRNA vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna are recommended. So everyone who previously had AstraZeneca will get a booster with one of the two vaccines.
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach refers to an analysis by the biochemist Rob Swanda, who comes to the conclusion that after two vaccinations with Biontech, a booster vaccination with Moderna has the highest protective effect. In the case of two cans of Moderna, it is advisable to refresh with Biontech, in the case of Johnson & Johnson again with Moderna. In general, it is advisable to contact your family doctor again before you make an appointment there or at a vaccination center.
Source From: Tagesspiegel
I am a technology author with 8 years of experience in journalism. My writing covers the latest technology advancements and trends, drawing on my expertise in news journalism and social media platforms. I have contributed to major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.