Vaccination centers less in demand: 2330 vaccinations with Nuvaxovid

The state-owned vaccination centers in Berlin have become significantly less important. Atotal of around 5900 Corona vaccinations were administered there in the second week of March, down from 7300 the week before.

This was reported by dpa on Friday (March 18, 2022) after a response from the Senate Department for Health to an inquiry. In the last week of February, there were still 9700 vaccinations in the vaccination centers and vaccination centers together. According to the Senate Department, almost two-thirds of the vaccinations in Berlin are now administered by general practitioners and specialist doctors.

Five state-owned vaccination centers still in operation

The Messe vaccination center and the vaccination centers in the Spandau Arcaden, the Lindencenter in Lichtenberg district, Ikea Tempelhof, and Freizeitforum Marzahn were already closed at the end of February. Currently, the vaccination centers inside the former ICC convention center, the former Tegel Airport and the Ring-Center shopping mall on Frankfurter Allee as well as the drive-tru vaccination center in Lichtenberg and the vaccination center for children at Ikea Lichtenberg are still open. At the moment, these vaccination centers have a combined capacity of around 3,500 to 4,000 vaccinations per day.

Only slow progress in vaccination rate

It is not yet clear how long the individuak vaccination centers will continue to stay open. That reportedly depends on many criteria, including pandemic developments and the demand for vaccination appointments. According to Friday's Senate status report, the rate of first-time vaccinations is 77.6 percent - actually, 80 percent should have been reached by the end of January. Vaccination progress remains slow overall.

Low demand for US vaccine Nuvaxovid

The vaccine Nuvaxovid from the US manufacturer Novavax has only been administered around 2330 times in Berlin since the end of February. Overall, it plays a minor role in the overall vaccination campaign. Of the Biontech vaccine alone, more than 5.5 million doses have been administered in Berlin since Covid vaccinations began in December 2020. "We did not expect the vaccination gap to be closed by Nuvaxovid alone," the Senate Department for Health stated. Nuvaxovid is a protein vaccine, a different technology than the mRNA preparations from Biontech-Pfizer and Moderna that have been mostly used, which some people have concerns about.