In no other federal state has so little vaccine for the Corona vaccinations arrived as in Brandenburg. With 54.7 vaccine doses per 100 inhabitants, the state of Brandenburg also ranked last in Germany on the federal government's vaccination dashboard on Friday.

At the same time, as the PNN made public, according to the current state report of the Paul Ehrlich Institute since mid-April, 34,134 vaccine doses, which were available for vaccinations in Brandenburg doctors' offices, were not called. And that, although tens of thousands are waiting for vaccination appointments.In contrast, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania received 80,000 doses more than the state's target in the same period. The 34,134 Brandenburg doses (half from Astrazeneca and half from Biontech) must have been lost somewhere in the Bermuda triangle of practices, pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers - that is the supply chain of the so-called "federal strand".

But where? "We have no explanation for this. That's a matter that needs to be clarified between the federal supplier and the pharmacies," said Peter Noack, CEO of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVBB). "We are investigating why there is something missing." He ruled out the possibility that local doctors' offices were ordering too little vaccine.

"We haven't been ordering too little. We get hundreds of calls from our practices that less is being delivered than ordered, 80 ordered, only 20 delivered, 20 ordered, none delivered," Noack said. "That's the reality." That is the practice. However, it doesn't prove that vaccine orders are actually being placed through this supply line at the rate to which Brandenburg is entitled based on population. And it doesn't explain the state disparity.

Pharmacies are not allowed to increase orders

In any case, it's not up to the pharmacies. "The pharmacies must receive the doctors' orders for next week's deliveries by Tuesday," Mathias Braband-Trabandt, spokesman for the Brandenburg Pharmacists' Association, explained to the PNN.

"These orders are passed on one-to-one to the pharmaceutical wholesalers. Pharmacies are not allowed to top up doctors' orders at all. Everything that Brandenburg doctors' offices order is forwarded to the wholesaler." That would be cut on a regular basis. Do practices in other states preemptively order more right away?

The KVBB has no exact overview at all whether the orders of the practices exhaust the Brandenburger quota. Noack rejects the demand of the Brandenburg Minister of the Interior and Vaccination, Michael Stübgen (CDU),that the KVBB immediately ensure that every vaccination can is called off: "The Minister should know that we as the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians have nothing to do with the whole logistics issue. We have no control possibilities."

And, "We have no logistical handle to intervene in this process at any point." And, "It's about the same as if they want to bust the passenger in the back row of the autobus that the driver in front is turning right. You've got to take the driver on that one."

KVBB still considers vaccination centers dispensable

At the same time, Noack said again that doctors' offices could take over the Corona vaccinations completely, vaccination centers are dispensable. It concerns approximately 2.4 million still outstanding inoculations in the country, which must take place until 21 September. Will doctors forego summer vacations if necessary to get this done? That can be managed, with family doctors, the specialist practices, says Noack.

And in such a way that a doctor will still be able to "take his vacation in the summer." The 150,000 vaccinations per week in doctors' offices promised at the state vaccination summit can be done, he said - "if there's enough vaccine." The KVBB boss does not think much of demands to vaccinate in pharmacies as well. Medical care in Germany is good, Noack said. "We don't need a drive-in, a supermarket, a pharmacy where vaccinations are given."

And then there is the mathematics. The state of Brandenburg has by far the lowest density of doctors and practices in Germany. This means that the few medical practices in the Mark region would have to order and receive a disproportionate amount of vaccine, more than practices in all other German states, so that not a single dose is lost for the state of Brandenburg.

Photo by Brao