Monday, August 02, 2021
Faster than the STIKO
Spahn Ministry wants to vaccinate young people
The vaccines from Biontech and Moderna are approved for young people, but the STIKO has not yet made a general recommendation. The Federal Ministry of Health does not want to wait any longer, but instead makes an offer to 12 to 17-year-olds. Today the health ministers of the federal states are giving advice. Booster vaccinations should also be discussed.
The health ministers of the federal states want to advise on corona vaccination offers for young people today. According to a proposal by the Federal Ministry of Health, 12 to 17-year-olds in all federal states should receive such an offer. This emerges from a draft resolution.
In May, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Covid-19 vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer for children and adolescents from the age of twelve, and the approval for Moderna followed a few days ago. In Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) has not yet recommended vaccination for all children and adolescents, despite intense political pressure, but only for those with certain pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or obesity who have an increased risk of a severe course.
“All countries will now offer vaccinations for 12 to 17-year-olds in the vaccination centers,” writes the ministry in the proposed resolution sent to the federal states. Resident doctors and company doctors who vaccinated relatives could also be involved. In some countries, vaccination campaigns are already planned in schools, for example. In Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, lessons start again this Monday after the summer vacation, and in Hamburg on Thursday.
FDP criticizes the approach
For young adults, the federal states should make “low-threshold offers” in universities, vocational schools and schools, according to the draft resolution for Monday. “This can make a significant contribution to a safer start to teaching and learning after the summer vacation.”
Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Health, Manne Lucha from the Greens, advocates vaccinations for young people. There was also approval from Saxony-Anhalt. The incumbent Saxony-Anhalt Minister of Health Petra Grimm-Benne said: “The demand for this is there.” The country is already planning special vaccination campaigns for adolescents, according to the SPD politician. Criticism came from the FDP. “If the health ministers change the vaccination recommendation to the Stiko by, that amounts to a disempowerment,” said Andrew Ullmann, chairman of the FDP in the health committee of the Bundestag, the “Tagesspiegel”.
Third vaccination from September
Another topic of the health ministers should be booster vaccinations. For certain groups, the Federal Ministry of Health proposes appropriate vaccinations from September. Particularly in the case of immunocompromised, very old and in need of care, study results indicate reduced or rapidly decreasing protection after vaccination. According to the draft, the federal states should therefore send mobile vaccination teams to care facilities, among other places. People with an immune deficiency or in home care should therefore be offered a booster vaccination by their doctors. These vaccinations should be carried out with one of the two mRNA vaccines, i.e. with the means from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna. Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek spoke out in favor of a booster vaccination. However, “clear and unbureaucratic guidelines” are needed to determine which group should go first. This requires reliable statements from the federal government and the Standing Vaccination Commission, said the CSU politician.
Meanwhile, the Green health politician Janosch Dahmen is calling for increased awareness-raising campaigns for vaccinations and “everyday solutions”. “Obviously, there is a lack of convincing, target-group-specific information campaigns, more mobility of the vaccine, i.e. vaccination buses, and a corona warning app that informs people about spontaneous vaccination offers in the area,” he told the “Rheinische Post”. “It takes a creative drive and better information offers, good arguments and solutions that are suitable for everyday use”. The SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich also spoke in the “Rheinische Post”. It does not rule out disadvantages for the unvaccinated. “Private providers can of course grant benefits to vaccinated or convalescent people. State bodies must, however, offer their services to everyone equally, although there may well be disadvantages for unvaccinated people through hygiene concepts or, in the future, through their own work for tests,” said Mützenich.
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