France And Germany Turn Their Brains To Use AstraZeneca Vaccine For Their Citizens

JAKARTA - German and French authorities are under pressure to come up with creative solutions to divert the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine immediately so as to avoid accumulating unused doses in the next few weeks.

Launching The Guardian, French media regulators have reversed their advice not to inject the AstraZeneca vaccine to seniors over the age of 65. This makes the German Health Committee also required to follow these steps.

Both Britain and Germany are known to be 'late' in injecting the AstraZeneca vaccine, due to the 'debate' on quota fulfillment between AstraZeneca and the European Union at the end of January.

The utilization rate of AstraZeneca's vaccine in France is at 24 percent, well below the target set at 80 - 85 percent, said a health ministry official. In Germany, two-thirds of the 1.4 million doses delivered were kept on Monday.

This is inseparable from the public trust in the two countries who chose the vaccine, reported Pfizer BioNTech, which in initial trials showed a higher efficacy in fighting COVID-19.

In the western German city of Duisburg, for example, a spokesman said 50 percent to 70 percent of the schedule for AstraZeneca vaccine injections was either not used or canceled.

On closer inspection, however, AstraZeneca's skepticism appears to be a local phenomenon confined to certain regions, with logistical issues likely to play a much larger role.

In Germany's second-largest city, Hamburg, authorities say they experience almost no reluctance among those offered the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Admittedly, however, the decision to phase out vaccines only for those under the age of 65 has created less significant logistical problems.

"We expect the AstraZeneca vaccine to be one of the key drivers of our program, because of its simple storage requirements, meaning we can deliver it through a doctor's practice before BioNTech or Moderna vaccines," said Martin Helfrich, a spokesman for the local health ministry.

Germany's decision not to remove the vaccine limit for people over 65 means authorities must actively seek out younger people in top priority groups. Finding important workers such as medical staff or firefighters is done relatively quickly through trade unions and labor associations.

But reaching younger people with pre-existing conditions is a more tedious task, with states having to invite them by post to make phone appointments, causing considerable delays.

Several cities have begun experimenting with creative ways to remove unwanted stock; for each dose currently remaining in Duisburg, specially developed software sends text messages to three people on a list of interested volunteers. The first to respond were given a promise to get a vaccine

In France, AstraZeneca's hesitant reports also mask flaws in the design of the country's vaccine launch strategy.

Although some doctors have stated publicly that they do not recommend injections, and some healthcare workers have reportedly been reluctant to accept them due to side effects experienced by some colleagues, there is little evidence that the AstraZeneca vaccine is actively rejected by the general public.

Analysts say the large number of unused AstraZeneca doses appears to be the result of the government focusing exclusively on age and risk groups, such as nursing home residents, which it is not approved for, without a back-up plan.

Like most European Union countries, France has also not followed the UK in extending the gap between the first and second doses of the Covid vaccine beyond the manufacturer's recommended period. meaning France would have to keep more reserves for the initial second dose.

As millions of doses by AstraZeneca, BioNTech and Moderna arrive across the European Union this month, the problems in France and Germany have shifted from one of a shortage of supply, to a doctor unable to get the vaccine into people's hands fast enough. .

If Germany continues to vaccinate people at its current pace, Die Welt newspaper calculated on Monday, it would accumulate nearly 5 million unused doses by the third week of March.

France's slow launch is set to accelerate significantly, with GPs authorized to administer injections since last week and pharmacies following suit this week, following a decision by state health regulators on Tuesday.

French Health Minister Olivier Véran, said France should give the first 6M dose by March, double the amount given during the first two months of the inoculation campaign.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jean Castex said last week that everyone over 50 would be offered the vaccine by mid-May.

In Germany, too, doctors will eventually be involved in the vaccination rollout, although it is not until the country receives about 3 million doses a week, meaning doctors will not be in a position to select some of their patients over others.