„Everything that comes now, is no longer vaccinated,“ said about the managing director of the pharmacy chamber of Saarland, Carsten Wohlfeil. „There is currently nothing to be gained from all suppliers,“ said Stefan Fink, Chairman of the Thuringian Pharmacists Association. Delivery delays or bottlenecks are also reported from other federal states such as Saxony, Lower Saxony and Hesse.
„Patients may have been vaccinated much earlier this year,“ said Susanne Stöcker, spokeswoman for the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI). „We do not know yet whether more people will be vaccinated or if the vaccinations will take place earlier.“ She considers the large flu epidemic last season as a possible reason for the current interest. As a result, probably more people are sensitized to the topic.
Other experts refer to the quadruple vaccine now available as a cash benefit. He is considered more effective than the one with three different components. The Federal Ministry of Health mentions as possible causes for the shortage in addition to a higher demand a late order of flu vaccines by doctors and pharmacists, too large stocks in some medical practices and pharmacies and direct contracts between health insurance companies and pharmacies.
In view of the regional bottlenecks, Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) relaxed procurement regulations. According to regional requirements, the federal states may allow pharmacies and doctors‘ offices to provide each other with flu vaccines and vaccines obtained from other countries of the European Union may be dispensed in pharmacies. „It must be clear: Anyone who wants to be vaccinated against the flu,“ said Spahn the editorial network Germany. Overall, 15.7 million doses are available in Germany.
