In many medical practices in the Munich district, there was disbelief on Monday: The vaccination campaign should be kicked off. A wave of colds is rolling in. And as if he wanted to go one step further, the Executive Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) has announced that the Biontech vaccine will be subject to quotas. “Jens Spahn doesn’t even know what he’s doing,” says Brunnthal doctor Christina Adamczyk. The entire organization of the vaccination campaign in the next few weeks will be undermined. “We’re angry.” The Bavarian General Practitioner Association calls for Spahn’s resignation in a resolution from the weekend.
Friedrich Kiener, a general practitioner in Unterschleißheim, accuses Spahn of tinkering with the doctors. Especially now that they are struggling to convince many hesitant people “with pressure and common sense” to have a vaccination, uncertainty is being stirred up again. That is more than “unfortunate”, he says.
In the meantime, the district continues to order vaccine for the district’s own vaccination center in Haar and the mobile teams, “using the existing possibilities”. District office spokeswoman Franziska Herr announced that 15,000 cans from the manufacturer Biontech were delivered this week. The order for the coming week amounts to 24,000 cans. So far there has been no official indication that a delivery on this scale might not be possible. At the weekend, the district increased its capacities in the Haar vaccination center to around 1400 immunizations per day; In addition, options such as further vaccination buses are being examined, the authority announced.
Christina Adamczyk and Claudia Bibracher (from left) hold many conversations to get people to vaccinate. Politicians make it difficult to work with their short-term announcements.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
Doctors and practice staff have to do a lot of persuading again. Adamczyk reports on patients who insist on a Biontech vaccination in emails. Until Christmas, there are 500 vaccination appointments in the small practice in Brunnthal that Adamczyk runs with her colleague Claudia Bibracher. The calendar is full until January. And nobody knows who will accept Moderna, which Adamczyk praised as a good vaccine.
“It is not possible to be informed three days in advance,” says Planegger doctor Alexandra Westermeier. Once again, politics took the doctors by surprise with short-term announcements. She called in 100 patients in the practice for December 4th. Who can query all of these patients? “That’s a lot of extra work.” One will try to organize Biontech vaccination doses.
Friedrich Kiener complains about the strain on the practice staff.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
Friedrich Kiener still has a commitment for 500 doses for this Thursday, on which he is planning a special vaccination day, but not for the following week. Vaccine management is getting more complicated. Six doses are to be taken out of one ampoule of Biontech, and one ampoule of Moderna 20. So 20 patients should also be in the practice when Moderna is vaccinated. In addition, Moderna should only be injected into people aged 30 and over. Adamczyk now wants to bundle patients into groups. Kiener thinks all of this is hardly unreasonable for the practice staff. That pushes massive overtime.