The changed vaccination advice raises many questions among the 5.5 million affected Austrians. So are the excessive amounts of vaccine doses, which are turning into a million-dollar grave by the expiration date.
Since 1 September, the National Vaccination Committee has also recommended fourth stitches for people between the ages of 12 and 60. About 5.5 million Austrians are affected. The “crown sheds light on the board’s course change:
- Why has the advice been expanded?
“We want to create a simple, memorable vaccination schedule that applies to everyone and that meets both epidemiological and individual requirements,” explains infectious disease specialist Herwig Kollaritsch. Data shows that for many young people in particular, the valid vaccination certificate will soon expire. Exactly these should now be moved to the fourth stitch.
- Does infection replace the fourth sting?
“No! Even if people have recently had an infection, vaccination is important for a good immune response”, Kollaritsch encourages. No sooner than six months after the last vaccination should be refreshed.
- Why is waiting for the variant vaccine not recommended?
The current and soon to be approved variant vaccines are based on the omicron variants BA1 and not on the currently common BA4 and BA5 variants. “And certainly not to the BA275 variant that appeared in India,” says Kollaritsch.
- Is switching between vaccines problematic?
“Anyone who has tolerated their previous vaccine well should stick to this one,” advises the infectiologist. In case of stronger side effects, a change is possible.
- What are the expectations for the Corona autumn?
“We have no illusions that we will remain at the current level of infection,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch, “Covid will not go away.”
Millions of damage due to expiration date
The extended vaccination advice and the expected influx of people who want to be vaccinated pose a challenge for the infrastructure, but bottlenecks are not expected at the federal ministry, not even with the vaccine. “There are currently 17.67 million vaccine doses in the country,” the official said.
The problem with this is that the vaccine has an expiration date. That has already been exceeded at 2.27 million vaccine doses, which are currently no longer usable. “At present, a shelf life extension for 1.35 million of the expired Pfizer cans is still in the room,” the ministry said in response to a “Krone request”. An expiration date extension is requested by the vaccine manufacturers and decided by the EMA.
A million cans should definitely be thrown away
Approximately one million cans, which are stored decentrally in various warehouses by contract companies, must be disposed of in a responsible manner. A huge financial loss in the millions.
The exact cost of a vaccine dose remains a mystery. “During pan-European tenders, it was decided that the order contracts are confidential. Therefore, the prices are also subject to confidentiality and cannot be shared,” said the Ministry of Health.
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.
