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ofJonas Nonnenmann
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shut down
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Is the worst over yet? This is how the head of the Offenbach health department assesses the situation in old people’s homes.
The city of Offenbach announced that 650 people in care facilities have been vaccinated by mobile teams so far. Vaccinations have also started in hospitals. According to the state government, the vaccination center in the town hall should open on February 9th.
Mr. Bornhofen, how have you experienced the last few weeks?
The time was marked by a lot of uncertainty. For example, because fewer tests were carried out after Christmas and many laboratories were not working, it was not clear to us for a long time in which direction the number of cases was developing.
Were you surprised by the high number of deaths?
To be honest, yes.
Has the worst been over in the nursing homes?
I find it difficult to answer that. We have already vaccinated many people in the homes, but now we have to see how well and how quickly the vaccination works – the immune system reacts more slowly in the elderly. My mind says we got through the worst. But we’re still in the thick of it, holding our breath until everyone has been vaccinated twice.
How many infections can you trace?
We can do that in a little more than half of the cases. In nursing homes, it is even easier to trace contacts. The lower number of cases also makes our work easier.
How does the disease get into the facilities?
For example, by visiting, we were able to practically rule out this risk through mandatory tests. Some got infected in the hospital because they had to share a room. And then there is the risk from the staff. “
The state government stipulates that from Saturday the employees will be tested twice a week. That does not offer complete security either. Would it be feasible to test the employees on a daily basis?
A prerequisite for this would be that there are sufficient staff. In the next three weeks we can support our retirement homes in Offenbach with additional armed forces personnel with testing. And then there is the question of cost. Homes can only refinance some of the rapid tests. If they tested every day, they would have to pay for it themselves.
How does vaccination work in the nursing home?
First of all, an on-site advance team ensures that everything goes well organizationally. For example, they check whether there are enough rooms and beds in case someone should get dizzy. Then the vaccination team follows. The vaccine is stored in the town hall at minus 70 degrees. Individual bottles are thawed, mixed with saline solution on site and filled into the syringes. Everything is documented, then it starts.
How much vaccine did you get?
Especially in the beginning it was little, only about eleven bottles with five to six doses each, and not every day. So far we have always used everything. If, for example, people couldn’t be vaccinated because of an infection, we used the rest of the material to vaccinate the team. Otherwise we would have had to throw it away.
How have people tolerated Biontech’s vaccine so far? So far all very well, also with the second vaccination. This is one of the reasons why some who were skeptical on our first visit now want to be vaccinated. The willingness to vaccinate is generally lower among nurses. If the management of the home is behind it, that helps.
Interview: Jonas Nonnenmann
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