Nothing has been learned from the pandemic. There is a lack of vaccines and medicines against flu and corona.
“Next year we have to do this differently.” With these words, the Ministry of Health comments on the current chaos surrounding vaccinations and medicines against both the flu and Corona. You would think that you have learned something in three Corona years. Instead, Austria has been faced with a mess since the flu and Covid season began.
There was initially a shortage of corona vaccines in September and October. “Patients have already called us and wanted to know when they can be vaccinated. But we didn’t even know which vaccine would come,” a general practitioner from Vienna-Ottakring tells the “Krone”.
The minister has no explanation for the shortage
The corona vaccination is now working quite well. There are now bottlenecks in both the flu vaccination and the Covid drug Paxlovid. The ministry cannot explain the problems; they assume it is a “distribution problem”.
According to the department’s data, there should be enough Paxlovid in the country. “We have ordered 180,000. In October we had information that there were still 75,000. With a consumption of 5,000 to 15,000 per month, we should easily get through the winter.” The problems with the flu vaccination are similar. Although many doctors do not understand it, it is available in pharmacies, but it costs six times as much!
Flu vaccination costs 41 euros at the pharmacy
“In my consultation room the vaccination would cost seven euros,” says the Viennese doctor. This deductible is an annoying extra bureaucracy; last year the flu vaccination was free. “But I can’t get them and have to send the patients who really want them to the pharmacy. There it costs 41 euros.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
