Vaccination strategy: Lower Saxony wants to vaccinate teachers earlier

According to a report, Lower Saxony wants to enable teachers and educators to have a corona vaccination earlier than planned.  The  “Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung” reported on Saturday, referring to the Ministry of Health, on specific plans. According to this, Lower Saxony wants to work together with other federal states in the federal government to change the vaccination ordinance accordingly. This means that groups that are not yet in turn according to the prioritization can be vaccinated earlier.

According to the report, Lower Saxony currently has too many vaccine doses in stock because many of those affected do not keep their appointment for vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine. “All opening scenarios rightly provide a high priority for the education sector,” said Lower Saxony Health Minister Carola Reimann (SPD) of the newspaper. It is therefore only logical to vaccinate teachers and educators with a higher priority than before.

 The  state government has already raised this issue several times at the federal level, said Reimann. She very much hope that the federal vaccination ordinance will be adapted soon. According to the HAZ, Lower Saxony also wants to enable its vaccination centers to vaccinate people from the second priority group under 65 years of age earlier. It is therefore primarily about resident doctors and other medical staff with patient contact.

Nationwide initiative

Other federal states are also planning similarly.

 The  MDR reported, citing statements by the Saxon Health Minister Petra Köpping (SPD), that teachers and daycare staff could soon be offered a vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) asked in a letter to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) to examine the extent to which those from the third group of the vaccination sequence could already be vaccinated with the sufficiently available AstraZeneca product. “This would also enable teachers and educators to be vaccinated more quickly,” it says.

Berlin’s health senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD) also supports the demand for an earlier vaccination. Berlin is preparing to adjust the vaccination regulation accordingly, she said on Friday. Spahn had also signaled that he wanted to allow primary school teachers and daycare staff to prioritize vaccinations earlier, since distance rules could not be adhered to consistently for them. According to the minister, there is a relatively large consensus on this issue. In the event of an agreement, he promised a speedy change to the vaccination ordinance.

According to the current Corona Vaccination Ordinance, educators and teachers are only in the third group (increased priority). Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the heads of government of the federal states asked the Ministry of Health at their most recent consultation to examine a higher prioritization of primary school teachers and daycare teachers.