Germany says does not intend to delay second COVID-19 vaccine shot

Germany intends to stick to recommendations by BioNTech and Pfizer regarding the administration of a second dose of their COVID-19 vaccines rather than delaying it, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... Germany has asked an independent expert panel for advice on whether to allow a delay in administering the second dose to make scarce supplies go further, after a similar move by Britain last week. "My impression is that it makes a lot of sense, especially with these sensitive issues, where trust and reliability are important, that we stick to the approval," Spahn told a news conference, adding that this was in line with the initial feedback he had received from the vaccination experts. #eudebates #Covid_19 #coronavirus #Corona #COVD19 #Health #COVID #vaccine #RapidTests #Testing #COVIDtests #COVIDtest #CureVac #Moderna #Novavax #NVAX He also spoke out against mixing or switching between COVID-19 vaccines, which some nations are also considering to stretch scarce supplies. Germany's 83 million residents will receive more than 130 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, enough for everybody who needs to receive the shots, Spahn said. He said that he expects first deliveries of the vaccine developed by Moderna next week. The European Medicines Agency earlier on Wednesday approved the U.S. drugmaker's vaccine for emergency use. Germany will receive 50 million doses of the Moderna vaccine this year, of which 2 million doses are expected in the first quarter, he said. The Berlin government is under increasing fire from experts and politicians for not buying enough doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to quickly roll out its immunization program. https://www.eudebates.tv/debates/eu-p... Experts and politicians slammed the German government on Saturday for failing to ensure a sufficient supply of vaccine doses ahead of the country's coronavirus vaccination drive. As a member of the EU vaccine procurement scheme, Germany is reliant on regulators at the European level granting authorization of the vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection. #eudebates #Covid_19 #coronavirus #Corona #COVD19 #Health #COVID #vaccine #RapidTests #Testing #COVIDtests #COVIDtest #CureVac #Moderna #Novavax #NVAX But the EU has taken longer than countries like the UK, US and Canada to give the go-ahead. So far, only the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is permitted in EU member states, but the block as a whole only made an order for 300 million doses during the summer, in the belief that more vaccine alternatives would be available. Frauke Zipp, a neurologist and member of the advisory Leopoldina Academy of Sciences, on Saturday slammed German lawmakers for their lack of foresight over vaccine procurement. "I consider the current situation a gross failure," she told Die Welt newspaper. "Why didn't they order much more of the vaccine during the summer just to be safe?" The BioNTech founders said on Friday that they were scrambling to boost production after being pressured to fill the gaps caused by the EU's blunder. German Health Minister Jens Spahn has shrugged off any suggestion the government has been lackadaisical in its approach towards vaccinating the country. "Things are going exactly as it was planned," he told broadcaster RTL. Spahn said he anticipated a shortfall at the beginning and that the government would have to "prioritize" who would be vaccinated but that all nursing home residents would receive the inoculation by the end of January. Vaccination is a 'race against time' Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, defended the EU's vaccine strategy on German radio broadcaster RBB, saying that the Commission had secured almost two billion doses with six different manufacturers. However, Karl Lauterbach, health expert for the center-left Social Democrats, told the Rheinische Post newspaper that the failure by Brussels to buy more of the Moderna vaccine was "regrettable." "It was clear early on that the Moderna vaccine had a strong efficacy and could be used by GPs." Lauterbach thinks it's too late for the Moderna vaccine to play any major role in Germany's short-term vaccination needs. He also criticized the EU for not having ordered more BioNTech-Pfizer vaccines early on. Bernd Riexinger, co-chair of the socialist Left Party, called on Health Minister Jens Spahn directly to ensure the further production of BioNTech-Pfizer jabs. He said given the spread of the new COVID-19 variant in the UK, "a successful vaccine strategy is also a race against time." https://www.eudebates.tv/ #eudebates