Corona: vaccination stop in NRW due to Biontech delivery delay | Regional

Düsseldorf – Due to the delayed delivery of the Biontech corona vaccine, North Rhine-Westphalia is postponing the start of vaccinations for people over 80 who live at home. And stop the vaccinations in clinics and old people’s homes!

Only people who had already received a first vaccination would receive their second vaccination dose as planned in the coming week. From February 1st, regular vaccinations will continue in hospitals and care facilities.

The 53 vaccination centers in the state will not start operating until February 8th – a week later than previously planned, said a spokesman for the NRW Ministry of Health.

“The changed delivery quantities currently communicated by BioNTech make it imperative to change the vaccination plan,” says a letter from the ministry to the coordination offices of the vaccination centers in the districts and municipalities that was received there on Tuesday evening. The vaccines for hospitals ordered for Wednesday and Thursday could already “no longer be delivered”.

In addition, “from now on, no orders for primary vaccinations can be placed in hospitals and nursing homes. All initial vaccination orders already made for January 22nd and the following days will be canceled by the country, “the Ministry of Health said in the email.

The university clinics in the country that were supplied with Moderna vaccine were not yet affected by the vaccination ban. At the Düsseldorf University Clinic, around 900 employees have been vaccinated without problems since the vaccination started on Monday, said a clinic spokesman. Vaccine replenishment is assured, but there is still no specific delivery date for the second delivery.

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However, it is still unclear whether this will really exist. According to the Ministry of Health, the doses for the second vaccination, which is due after four weeks, will be withheld, but: If the vaccine shortage persists or it worsens, the next tranche of the Moderna vaccine may also be used elsewhere than in the university hospitals it on Wednesday from the Ministry of Health.

Why the delay?

Due to short-term renovations in a bottling plant, the manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer will deliver significantly less vaccine than planned in the coming week. Therefore, the state government must adjust the further vaccination plans, said the spokesman.

Criticism from the municipalities

Mönchengladbach’s Lord Mayor Felix Heinrichs (31, SPD) sharply criticizes the state’s dealings with the municipalities, with the people who are urgently waiting for the vaccination and everyone who has taken responsibility in the facilities or vaccination teams: “This is not how cooperation can work . If firm commitments are annulled with the stroke of a pen, the government shatters any trust of those affected in the state’s ability to act. Of course, the country is not responsible for delivery bottlenecks at the manufacturer. Then you shouldn’t promise more than you can keep for a quick PR success. “

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Bodo Klimpel (57, CDU), District Administrator of the Recklinghausen district: “So far, the planning and vaccinations in the district have run smoothly. All the more disappointing that appointments that have already been made will not take place. The anger and disappointment in the hospitals and institutions is great and we too are unhappy about this development. Unfortunately, even for the state, it was not foreseeable that around 100,000 fewer cans than announced by the manufacturer would now reach North Rhine-Westphalia. “

According to the Ministry of Health, around 350,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia have so far been vaccinated against the coronavirus. This week alone, the number of first vaccinations has risen by 67,000, and around 30,000 more administrations will be added by the end of this week, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

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