Status: 11.08.2021 2:21 p.m.
The day after allegedly manipulated corona vaccinations in the vaccination center in Schortens became known, 2,000 people registered for new appointments. There are up to four times as many people affected.
“The citizens react very prudently,” said a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health in Hanover on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the police and the district of Friesland announced that 8,557 people might not be vaccinated against Covid-19 because a nurse is said to have drawn up syringes with a saline solution instead of a vaccine. You should now have another vaccination as soon as possible. The district has reportedly notified those affected by letter or email. There is also a citizen hotline at the number (0800) 0 00 51 60 and a FAQ info page switched. It is unclear whether some of the mostly older people who want to be vaccinated have been infected with the coronavirus and possibly even died from it. “These are reporting data that are not superimposed here – also for data protection reasons,” said the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health.
Seniors, nurses, educators and doctors affected
According to the authorities, people over the age of 70 who visited the vaccination center in Schortens-Roffhausen between March 5 and April 20 are mainly affected. In addition, employees of hospices and mobile care services, educators and doctors were vaccinated during this period. It is currently unclear how many of the 8,557 potential cases actually contained saline in the syringes. “The fact is that we do not know how many of them are unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated,” said the head of the Lower Saxony Corona crisis team Heiger Scholz on Tuesday. “It may be that only every third syringe was manipulated, it may be that there are no further cases. Unfortunately, the woman is not cooperative with the police, she is silent.”
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Police want to clarify the extent of possible manipulation
The police meanwhile want to hear more witnesses to clarify the extent of the allegations, said the spokeswoman for the Wilhelmshaven police station, Janina Schäfer, on Wednesday. Criminal investigations against the 40-year-old nurse are currently only in progress in the six cases originally disclosed. Initially, the authorities assumed that the nurse had only injected six people with saline instead of the Biontech active ingredient Comirnaty on April 21. The reason she gave at the time was that she had broken an ampoule with the vaccine and that she initially did not want to inform the head of the vaccination center out of shame. The woman was released. The number of possible victims increased after the hearing of witnesses and raised doubts about their portrayal. The police found that the nurse had shared vaccination-critical texts on social media. The specialist commissioner for politically motivated crime took over the investigation.
Lawyers: There was no further action
The woman’s lawyers reject a political motivation of their client, as well as the extent of the acts now suspected by the authorities. The salt injections on April 21 were a “one-time incident”. “In particular, there were no other days on which the vaccine was not administered in the prescribed amount by our client,” said a statement.
Crisis team: repeating the vaccination is not a problem
The Corona crisis team in Hanover announced on Tuesday that those affected could be re-vaccinated or vaccinated in the vaccination centers in Friesland, Wilhelmshaven, Ammerland and Wittmund. “A revaccination is advisable and unproblematic even if the vaccination was successful,” said the deputy head Claudia Schröder. It is completely harmless. “And so this is now the method of choice.” The President of the State Health Office, Matthias Pulz, said that additional vaccinations are harmless to health. For the thousands of alleged victims of the manipulation, according to Schröder – despite the closure of the inpatient vaccination centers on September 30 – a second vaccination will be made possible on site.
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