After more than two years of the corona pandemic, is there a severe flu epidemic? Not least because of the feared overloading of the healthcare system, doctors recommend getting vaccinated against the flu.
Weimar (dpa/th) - General practitioners in Thuringia are preparing for the flu vaccination. According to the state associations of general practitioners and pharmacists, the supply of vaccines is currently underway. The first practices had already started with the injections, said the chairman of the Thuringian Association of General Practitioners, Ulf Zitterbart. "Actually, there are still a few days left." The Standing Vaccination Commission recommends starting vaccinations from October.
According to Zitterbart, patient demand for flu protection is currently greater than for corona booster vaccinations. In view of the ongoing corona pandemic, medical representatives urgently advise high-risk patients in particular to take an injection against the viral flu (influenza). This mainly affects older people, the chronically ill and people with a weakened immune system. Overburdening the healthcare system is to be avoided with the help of vaccination.
Pharmacies are now also authorized to give flu vaccinations. The prerequisite is that the staff there have been trained and that the pharmacies have suitable premises. Pharmacies must notify the State Office for Consumer Protection if they vaccinate. However, no reports have been received so far, said a spokeswoman for the authorities.
"It is neither clear how high the pharmacy remuneration for the vaccination is nor which groups of people are allowed to be vaccinated in the pharmacies," explained the chairman of the Thuringian Pharmacists' Association, Stefan Fink. Negotiations between the leading associations of pharmacists and health insurance companies were ongoing.
According to earlier information from the Ministry of Health, around 500 influenza cases were recorded in the 2021/22 flu season, which is far from the level of the pre-pandemic years. It can be assumed that there are unreported cases because doctors often do without laboratory diagnostics because the symptoms are usually unambiguous and such cases are not officially registered.
It is not yet clear how many people were vaccinated against flu in Thuringia last season. According to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, the evaluation of the vaccination accounts is ongoing. According to the Robert Koch Institute, around half of the population was vaccinated in the 2020/21 season.
