Berlin should get additional monkeypox vaccine
From BZ/dpa
Berlin is to receive additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine from the federal government this week.
The capital is expected to receive around 1,900 doses of vaccine, the Senate Department for Science, Health, Nursing and Equal Opportunities announced on Monday on request.
“In addition, we will see through a query to the countries whether we can still get vaccine doses from them,” it said. The “Tagesspiegel” had previously reported on it. So far, Berlin, where there are a particularly large number of reported cases in a national comparison, has received around 9,500 doses of the vaccine.
In the last few weeks, there have been calls from many sides for more vaccines for Berlin – the willingness to vaccinate is high, but the vaccine available to date is not sufficient, it said. Vaccination monitoring for the capital is currently underway, but because not all vaccination centers have reported numbers, the previous numbers of around 4,500 vaccinations are not yet complete.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) recommends vaccination against monkeypox for certain risk groups and people who have had close contact with infected people. She sees an increased risk of infection in men who have same-sex sexual contact with changing partners.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the disease is mild in most people and usually heals on its own, but severe courses are possible. So far, the Senate administration is not aware of any serious progression from the virus in Berlin.
The federal government had announced a second fee for the vaccine for the third quarter, the exact delivery date is still open. According to the current state of knowledge of the health administration, Berlin should then receive about a third of the vaccine.
With a view to the number of cases in the capital, a general downward trend can be observed, wrote the Senate Department. This is probably not yet due to the vaccinations, “it would be too early for that”. a change in people’s behavior as a result of public attention to the topic plays an important role.
It is not yet possible to say with certainty whether Christopher Street Day in Berlin a good two weeks ago had an effect on the monkeypox numbers – “so far, however, it does not look like it,” emphasized the administration.