Health – Cologne – Association of cities: the practical test for vaccination concept is still pending – health
Cologne (dpa / lnw) – After the closure of all 53 vaccination centers in North Rhine-Westphalia by the end of the month, according to the City Council, the practical test for the changed vaccination campaign is still pending. “The state’s new vaccination concept puts the responsibility for vaccinations in the hands of resident doctors. The money faucet for communal vaccination centers is now closed,” said the managing director of the North Rhine-Westphalia City Council, Helmut Dedy, of the German press agency.
In autumn and winter, when the cold and flu vaccinations are due, the corona vaccination campaign should not stall. Not everyone has been reached yet. And it is unclear whether booster doses will not lead to full waiting rooms. “Now it is clear: Once the vaccination centers are gone, there is no quick return to mass vaccinations. Perhaps it would have been wiser to continue some vaccination centers as backups?”, Dedy points out.
A good signal from the state is that the low-threshold and creative offers of the cities could continue: Mobile vaccination buses, vaccination campaigns in pedestrian zones, at sporting events or after work were successful. The country will continue to finance these actions and support them with staff. Dedy described the vaccination centers themselves as a municipal success story, which will end with the current or already completed settlement.
NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) had announced that the corona vaccination campaign would start in a new phase. From October 1st, the vaccinations would mainly be taken over by resident doctors and company doctors. In addition, mobile vaccination teams would be on the way. For their organization, the state finances the districts and independent cities up to one and a half positions. In addition, a certain number of doctors are available for the mobile vaccination teams.
“The vaccination centers are not always close to the people,” Laumann declared in the state parliament at the beginning of the month. Mobile teams went to old people’s homes, specialist centers or train stations – everywhere “where it is worthwhile, from a municipal point of view, to offer a vaccination”. The operation of the 53 vaccination centers costs 91 million euros every month. They are considered underutilized. In the meantime, more than two thirds of the inhabitants of the most populous federal state are fully vaccinated.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210928-99-393296 / 3