Status: 07/13/2022 04:21 a.m
Berlin is considered a hotspot for monkeypox infections. But in the capital, of all places, the vaccinations start with a delay. How can that be?
Michael Rausch had hoped that his practice would also receive the vaccine against monkeypox. He is a general practitioner specializing in infectious diseases. His practice is right on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin-Schoeneberg, the capital’s gay district. Of course, Rausch noticed in his practice that Berlin is a monkeypox hotspot.
In the past few weeks, he has not only taken care of the many infected people, but also the many concerned: “There was a great demand for the vaccination. Many calls, many emails. But we could only put people off.”
Berlin starts
Because when exactly it would start and whether his practice would even get a vaccine – that was unclear until the end. The news came just the day before yesterday: The Senate Department for Health will also deliver the vaccine to Nollendorfplatz in Rausch. It’s finally supposed to start today.
Nearly a week ago, neighboring Brandenburg started vaccinating. There are just 28 confirmed cases there. Hamburg (74 cases) and Bavaria (92 cases) are also already vaccinating. In Berlin, with its more than 900 cases, no vaccination has been carried out so far. “The fact that things are starting so late here in the hotspot is suboptimal. We would have liked to have taken countermeasures earlier. Especially now in Prideweek,” says Rausch. “After all, it still takes ten to 14 days for the vaccine to work at all.”
Vaccination doses have been ready for a long time
8,000 vaccine doses have been available in Berlin for a while. So there was no problem with procurement. It was bureaucratic obstacles that delayed the start of the campaign. The Berlin “Tagesspiegel” reported last week that the contract between the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and the health administration had not been signed. That has now happened, but valuable time has passed.
The sluggish start of the Berlin vaccination campaign earned criticism, including from the German Aidshilfe: “The vaccine has been available for some time. After all, it’s about protecting people from a serious infection with sometimes very painful consequences,” said the spokesman Holger Wicht.
The Senate Department for Health referred to legal and logistical challenges that had to be overcome.
A total of 22 practices now offer the vaccination in Berlin, as well as several hospitals. The vaccine is the common smallpox vaccine, Imvanex. According to current knowledge, this also protects against an infection with monkeypox.
gain experience
“We have to gain experience with it first,” says Rausch from Nollendorfplatz. “But it’s important that we have him. There are many patients in my practice who are infected with HIV. They fear that infection with monkeypox could have serious consequences for them. We can now protect these patients better.”
Last week, Rausch researched the fact that the vaccine had to be stored in a cool place. Even before it was clear whether he would get the vaccine, he ordered a freezer for his practice at his own expense. It’s already here.
Vaccination can begin. If he had waited for the city officials to inform him, he would not have ordered the freezer until Monday and had to wait for it to be delivered. And the Berlin vaccination campaign would have slowed down even further.