Immunisation in the centre and communities has begun
Today, the vaccination centre opened its doors in the large sports hall on the Hauer in Korbach. At the same time, the outreach vaccination programme in Bad Arolsen kicked off. A total of 192 doses were vaccinated on the first day to over 80-year-olds from Waldeck-Frankenberg. District Administrator Dr. Reinhard Kubat and First District Councillor Karl-Friedrich Frese take positive stock of the kick-off.
"The first day went well - both at the vaccination centre and at the outreach vaccination in Bad Arolsen," said the district administrator and first district councillor, expressing their satisfaction with the start. "We are relieved that things are finally getting underway in the area - and that with vaccination we now have an effective measure to contain the pandemic in a targeted way." It feels good to finally be able to fight the spread of the virus even more actively.
The first prick in the vaccination centre
Elke Scharkowski from Bad Wildungen also has a good feeling: She got the very first appointment at the Korbach vaccination centre via the hotline of the state of Hesse. Together with her husband Ralf Scharkowski, who was also able to register, she belongs to the first prioritisation group. Both were some of the first over-80s to get the first of two vaccinations in the large sports hall on the Hauer on Tuesday. "It's all a bit exciting. But the prick itself was very quick. And we are happy that we could get the vaccination here today," they both say. The second dose will follow in three weeks. "We tolerated the first shot well and are confident that the second will be the same."
In the Korbach vaccination centre, 72 doses were vaccinated on the first day. Medical and pharmaceutical staff and administrative employees of the district were on site, who were also supported by soldiers of the Frankenberg armed forces. They will continue to support the vaccination campaign in Waldeck-Frankenberg in the coming weeks and months.
120 vaccinees in Bad Arolsen
In addition to the start in the vaccination centre in Korbach, outreach vaccination has also started in parallel. Bad Arolsen was the first to do so. Together with the towns and municipalities, the district had lobbied the state to make it easier for older people and people with limited mobility to get vaccinated. In the coming weeks and months, central locations will be created in all towns and municipalities except Korbach and Waldeck where people over 80 can get vaccinated close to home. The contact persons for this are the towns and municipalities.
In the community centre in Bad Arolsen, mobile vaccination teams began today to vaccinate the first 120 senior citizens over 80 years of age from the residential town and the districts. As Mayor Jürgen van der Horst reported, the response to the offer of on-site vaccinations was gratifyingly high. The city administration has received a good 400 registrations so far.
Many of those who wanted to be vaccinated were relieved that things were finally getting underway, as Bad Arolsen had been experiencing very high numbers of infections in recent weeks. The relief that they did not have to travel long distances, especially in view of the wintry weather, was also clearly noticeable. "We are grateful to you for giving us the opportunity to be vaccinated practically on our doorstep," said one of the vaccinated people to the head of the health department, Karl-Friedrich Frese. Armin Schwarz, a member of the state parliament, was also pleased with the start of the campaign. In talks with the Minister of the Interior, Peter Beuth, he had also advocated for the option of outreach vaccination. This week, outreach vaccination will also start in Frankenberg, Bad Wildungen and Edertal.
District Administrator Dr. Kubat and First District Commissioner Frese see the start of vaccination as an important step in the fight against the pandemic: "It is true that the doses available for Waldeck-Frankenberg for the time being are not yet sufficient for the start of mass immunisation. But we assume that we will be able to vaccinate a large number of the members of the prioritised groups with them." It is hoped that more of the serum will soon be available so that the immunisation of the people in Waldeck-Frankenberg will quickly make significant progress.
