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None have been faster than Germany, which hopes to have covid-19 vaccination centers ready for operation by mid-December. There they can start being administered as soon as they have the green light from the European health authorities. The remaining European countries are still taking their first steps.
“I’d rather have an immunization center ready to work inactive for several days than a licensed vaccine without being able to administer it,” said Health Minister Jens Spahn. Each German federal state is responsible for identifying places where vaccine administration centers can be set up and places to store them. But the federal government will pay for the vaccines and participate in financing the vaccination centers.
Three priority groups have been identified, says the French daily The world: “People at significant risk of developing a serious or fatal form of the disease, due to age or poor health”; “Nursing staff or nursing home assistants, who take care of the most vulnerable population” and, finally, “people who must be protected because they occupy important functions for the rest of society and will be difficult to replace”. This group includes those who work in “health, members of the police and security services, firefighters and teachers”.
The document defining these priority groups was delivered on November 9 by experts from the three institutions invited by the government to comment: the German Ethics Council, the Leopoldine Academy of Sciences and the Standing Committee on Vaccination of the Robert Koch Institute of Public Health . Prioritizing access to vaccines will be essential, the German Health Minister acknowledged: “In the beginning, but also in the first weeks and perhaps months, it is very likely that there will not be enough doses for everyone who wants to vaccinate”, he warned.
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Despite this difficulty, the Spanish government – one of the countries most traumatized by the pandemic in Europe – has promised that much of the country will be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by the summer of 2021. The plan is expected to be presented this Tuesday to the Council of Ministers. But what Pedro Sánchez has already said is that vaccines must be distributed through 13,000 vaccination centers – a number that coincides with the number of health centers and health services offices in the Spanish autonomous regions, notes the country.
Immunization, using vaccines purchased from the European Union – 10% of which will be reserved for Spain, the newspaper said The newspaper – should start in January and will be voluntary.
France also plans to use the national health system to distribute covid-19 vaccines in early 2021, but the High Health Authority is not expected to reveal its plans until mid-December. At this point, it is only known that health care workers and elderly or frail people will be considered a priority.
“The organizational plan has to be simple, so that people can get vaccinated nearby, by their doctor or in the workplace. Pharmacists vaccinate against the flu, but can they also vaccinate against the coronavirus? “Asked Daniel Floret, vice president of the Technical Committee on Vaccination, a Radio Europe 1.
One step, however, has already been taken: 50 super freezers with a cold capacity down to minus 80 degrees Celsius have been purchased to keep vaccines like those from BioNtech-Pfizer, says Europa 1.
The UK government also hopes to be able to vaccinate medical staff and the most vulnerable people in early December. British Health Minister Matt Hancock says if the vaccines are approved by the Medicines and Medical Products Regulatory Agency, specifically Pfizer-BioNtech, the way is open. “The National Health Service must be ready as of December 1st,” he said. This vaccine is produced in Puurs, Belgium – from there to the UK it’s a small leap.
The covid-19 case detection operation relied on subcontracting to private companies and led to the discovery of delays in reporting 16,000 covid-19 cases in early October. So this time around, the vaccination will be organized by primary care hospitals and clinics. The military is expected to provide logistical support for the transport. And the Ministry of Health has issued a circular stating that it would be desirable to maintain the rate of 975 vaccine injections per week, reports the The world.
But the end of the transition period after the Brexit, later this year, and the final exit from the common market, on 1 January 2020, raise concerns about the flow of vaccines. You can imagine endless lines of trucks in Dover… Hancock tries to project safety: “We transport the vaccine by plane. We have a plan for all eventualities ”, he assured.
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