County advocates opening its vaccination centre

The starting signal for the registration for the Corona vaccination has been given. As of today, the state has activated the telephones and an online platform for making appointments. People over 80 from Waldeck-Frankenberg can also try to get an appointment via this in Kassel. According to the national vaccination strategy, they belong to the highest priority group. In order to make it possible to get vaccinated - especially for older people and people with limited mobility in the district - quickly, close to home and over the shortest possible distances, the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg is actively lobbying the state of Hesse to open the vaccination centre in Korbach as soon as possible.

Already in December, the district made all the necessary preparations in record time: "Our vaccination centre has been operational since 11 December, the staff trained. If there is enough vaccine, we could start vaccinations there immediately," says District Administrator Dr Reinhard Kubat. "We want to create an appropriate vaccination offer here locally for the people of Waldeck-Frankenberg - especially for the approximately 12,500 people who are over 80 years old and do not live in institutions but at home." However, this requires the permission of the state of Hesse, whose concept first provides for the opening of the supra-regional centres.

"For this reason, we are currently working together with the other more rural districts to ensure that the local vaccination centres are also allowed to start operating in the near future," says First District Commissioner and Head of the Health Department Karl-Friedrich Frese. "Of course, our citizens can also try to get an appointment in Kassel," Frese continues. However, he says it is less complicated to make it possible for people from the district to get vaccinated on site.

"Especially from the southern district, the journey to Kassel can take up to two hours in current weather conditions." For people who may have limited mobility and who may be dependent on medical or nursing care, the journey can be a great burden. "We take the situation and the concerns of these people very seriously - and are actively working to create timely services in Waldeck-Frankenberg."

So far, around 2,700 people in old people's and nursing homes have already received the first of two necessary vaccinations through the mobile vaccination teams. The over-80s at home should also benefit from the vaccination offer as soon as possible.

After vaccinating the elderly, an offer of vaccination will be made very promptly to the staff of intensive care units in hospitals and other medical facilities. "These people are on the front line of the fight against the Corona pandemic on a daily basis," Kubat and Frese further emphasise. "If we have our way, they should also be able to get a vaccination very quickly." The approval of the second vaccine from the company Moderna also gives cause for hope. The main task now is to ensure a steady supply of vaccines so that as many people as possible can be vaccinated as quickly as possible.

For District Administrator Dr Reinhard Kubat, the vaccines against the coronavirus are a milestone in medical history: "We have a vaccine at our disposal with which we can open a new chapter in the fight against the pandemic. Now it should be our concern to make this vaccination available to as many people as possible as quickly as possible - in order to save lives and for an early return to the normality we all long for."