The symbolic image of the victory gesture by the Viennese physician Christoph Wenisch went around the world a year ago. But the long-awaited path to normality has so far not happened in view of the Delta and Omikron variants and the rather high proportion of vaccination refusals.
The vaccines, which were highly effective against severe courses according to studies and later real-world data, were initially rare and primarily intended for the elderly and health workers in the first few months of 2021. A number of state politicians were accused of having pushed ahead with the immunization. Vaccination coordinator Clemens Martin Auer had to vacate his post after he was criticized for allegedly under-ordering vaccines.
From March onwards, very rare side effects of the two vector vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which can trigger thrombosis, caused a little uncertainty. This resulted in individual deaths worldwide, including in Austria. But experts assure that the benefits far outweigh the benefits. At the beginning of June and thanks to the wide availability of vaccines in Austria, the immunization campaign reached its first peak with more than 144,000 stings in one day. After that, however, the vaccination rate stagnated for a long time at around 60 percent over the summer.
“Boosted” since September
The first “third stitches” started on September 2nd. Initially referred to as a booster, this “booster” is, according to the latest findings, important for basic immunization, as is the case with some vaccines against other diseases. The recommendation led to another vaccination record on November 26th with more than 159,000 stitches – mainly “boosters” – in one day.
Five vaccines have now been approved in Austria: the vaccines from BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna based on the new mRNA technology, the vector vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson and the recombinant protein vaccine from Novavax. The first contingents of the latter should arrive at the end of January. According to the Ministry of Health, 1,581,624 doses of AstraZeneca, 12,821,627 doses of BioNTech / Pfizer, 351,860 doses of Johnson & Johnson and 1,455,587 doses of Moderna have been inoculated so far.
So far more than 70 percent immunized
According to the data in the e-vaccination pass, a total of 6,280,072 people and thus 70.3 percent of Austrians have valid vaccination protection. 6,589,991 people (73.8 percent) had at least the first stitch. 3.58 million or 39.6 percent are already “boosted” with the third stitch.
Not least because of the approval initially for adolescents, then also for children, the vaccination rates rose towards the end of the year. A minority that has recently become louder, however, vehemently rejects a vaccination for a wide variety of reasons. In view of the comparatively low vaccination coverage and the repeatedly critical situation in the intensive care units, where the available beds are running out, the government changed its line in November and announced a previously rejected vaccination requirement for those aged 14 and over, which should be effective in February. This fueled protests from parts of the population and also sparked a debate about sanctions for those who refused to be vaccinated.
Mückstein speaks of a “success story”
“A year ago today, a joint success story began for all of Europe,” said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens) on Monday. “A year later we have already carried out more than 16.2 million vaccinations in Austria and have thus prevented thousands of deaths and hospital stays across the country.” In order to be able to continue this success story, vaccination protection for society as a whole must be expanded even further and focus even more on booster vaccinations. The head of department thanked all those “who contribute to the protection of society with their vaccination, as well as those” who have worked tirelessly at the vaccination centers in the federal states for a year “.
If there was initially a shortage, according to calculations by the aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Austria there is a risk of a large-scale expiration of vaccination doses, as the APA reported a few days ago. Even if all those who are required to be vaccinated receive the first, second or third stitch in the first quarter and there are many child vaccinations, according to current forecasts, 10.2 million doses would be in stock by the end of March, according to MSF expert Marcus Bachmann. Seven million cans are currently unused. He pointed out that the vaccines have a comparatively short shelf life of six to nine months. Even if the “first in, first out” principle is consistently observed, things could very soon become “tight” in view of the expiry dates. The forecast for the first quarter also takes into account 750,000 doses of Novavax’s newly approved fifth Covid-19 vaccine.
No buyer for 280,000 Astra cans
“The fact that millions of vaccines could expire is not true,” denied the Ministry of Health. Not even 3,000 doses have so far expired in the federal vaccine stores. “In the federal government we have made provisions for the year 2022 that 100 percent of the population can be supplied with up to three stitches. For this purpose, appropriate quantities have been ordered on the European market with foresight.” The department also referred to vaccine donations of over three million doses, but at the same time admitted an imminent expiry of 280,000 doses to AstraZeneca. This is because “despite intensive efforts by the federal government” it has not yet been possible to find a buyer country and it will expire “soon”.
Source: Nachrichten
