The incident, which took place in a vaccination center in Friesland, became known in April. But back then it was apparently only about an accidentally destroyed ampoule. Now it becomes clear: the dimension could be much larger.
In Lower Saxony, thousands of people may have been injected with saline instead of an effective vaccine. A nurse who was entrusted with the preparation of the vaccinations is said to have ensured that an ineffective solution was found in a vaccination center near Schortens in the Friesland district from March 5 to April 20 instead of the desired vaccines from Biontech, Moderna and Astra Zeneca was administered.
According to the investigations so far, almost 10,000 vaccinations and around 8500 people are affected, including many people who are more than 70 years old. However, the number of cases can still increase. The possibly missing vaccinations should now be made up as soon as possible. “We have to avert the damage from these people, even if we don’t know how many people are really affected,” said Friesland’s District Administrator Sven Ambrosy (SPD) at a press conference in Jever.
The matter was already known at the end of April, but at that time it was about a much smaller dimension: The nurse is said to have admitted that she filled six syringes with saline instead of the Biontech vaccine. A vial with the vaccine fell down while mixing, which she then wanted to cover up. Afterwards, the vaccination protection of more than 100 people who were vaccinated on that day was first checked with antibody tests. Police and prosecutors have been investigating the case since then.
As the deputy head of the Wilhelmshaven / Friesland police station, Peter Beer, said at the press conference, there were concrete indications of further cases during the interrogation of witnesses from mid-June to the end of June.
The motive for the possibly manipulated vaccinations is unclear. However, Beer confirmed media reports that the accused shared posts on a social network before the incidents that criticized the government’s corona measures and distributed “corona-critical information” via a chat, as police representative Beer put it.