Booster vaccination: Skepticism about Moderna vaccine unfounded
25.11.2021 17:55
Up to 27 million people in Germany are expected to receive a booster vaccination against Covid-19, the so-called booster, by the end of the year. According to the plan, a significant proportion of these vaccinations will be carried out by practicing doctors. Now that the BioNTech delivery quantity has been restricted for residents, they now have to provide an enormous amount of advice to patients, as many people are skeptical about vaccination with the Moderna vaccine. Both vaccines are equally suitable for booster vaccination. This is pointed out by the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM) and its working group of family medicine internists. Ad hoc measures that are difficult to implement, such as the introduction of compulsory testing for medical staff under the new Infection Protection Act, are additionally stressful for practices.
Long queues in front of doctor's offices, vaccination buses or other free vaccination offers: the demand for the third corona vaccination is huge. As with the first and second vaccinations, general practitioners and specialists also make an enormous contribution to booster or booster vaccinations. The mRNA vaccines from BioNTech and Moderna are used, but the latter only applies to people over 30 years old. This also applies to people who received their first and second vaccinations with a vector vaccine from Astra Zeneca or Johnson&Johnson. They will now also receive a so-called cross-vaccination with one of the two mRNA vaccines. “The vaccines from BioNTech and Moderna are virtually identical in construction and have shown comparably high levels of effectiveness and tolerability in extensive studies - so both are very suitable as boosters, regardless of the vaccine used for the first and second vaccination,” says Professor Dr. Georg Ertl, Secretary General of the DGIM.
Skepticism about Moderna vaccine unfounded
After the Federal Ministry of Health placed a large quota on the amount of BioNTech vaccine that individual doctor's practices can order, many residents are experiencing an increased need for information about the Moderna vaccination among their patients. “The BioNTech vaccination continues to enjoy the greatest acceptance among patients. But skepticism about Moderna’s product is unfounded,” explains Dr. Marcel Schorrlepp, spokesman for the DGIM working group on family medicine internists. The family doctor with a practice in Mainz calls for people to keep appointments for vaccinations that have already been agreed. In the current tense pandemic situation, it is important that as many people as possible are vaccinated or refresh their vaccination protection. “Even if the protective effect decreases differently from person to person after the first and second vaccination, in the event of a vaccination breakthrough, the vaccination offers decisive protection against a severe course of Covid-19,” says Schorrlepp. In the USA, the BioNTech vaccine has now been approved as the first vaccine for children aged five and over, which will certainly also happen in Germany with the usual delay. “Then we need large amounts of vaccine from BioNTech for the otherwise unprotected school children and it makes sense to boost adults with the Moderna vaccine, which also generates higher antibody levels,” adds Professor Dr. Markus M. Lerch, chairman of the DGIM.
Political guidelines must be realistic
As with the first and second vaccinations, general practitioners and specialists also take on a key role and responsibility for the success of the vaccination campaign with the current booster vaccination. “We need political support for this important mission,” says family doctor Schorrlepp. “Measures such as the recently announced compulsory testing for medical staff in practices and clinics make sense in principle, but can hardly be implemented at such short notice without sufficient preparation time,” emphasizes DGIM General Secretary Ertl. In view of the great strain that the corona pandemic is currently placing on the health system, any new regulation must be carefully considered, clearly formulated and communicated to those affected in a timely manner. “Good medicine depends not least on good organization,” says Ertl.