SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de

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SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de
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SAXONY’S
ROLLING UP
ITS SLEEVES
Information about COVID-19 vaccination
SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de
Page 1 of 6

  PETRA KÖPPING, SAXON STATE
  MINISTER FOR SOCIAL AFFAIRS
  AND SOCIAL COHESION,
  ADVISES THE FOLLOWING:
• Protect yourself, your loved ones and us all.
  Please get vaccinated!
• Being fully vaccinated comes with extra
  freedoms (family gatherings, dining at
  restaurants etc.).
• There is a vaccine available to protect against
  COVID-19, administered via injection in the
  upper arm. The vaccine has been extensively
  tested and approved for Europe-wide use.
• Various vaccines have been approved in Europe. Depending on which one
  you receive, you may be fully protected against COVID-19 infection right
  from the first vaccination, or you may need a second dose.
• Vaccination is free of charge.
• I assure you that the quality, effectiveness and safety of vaccines undergo
  particularly strict testing in Germany and Europe in general. And this also
  applies to the COVID-19 vaccination.
• The vaccine contains no animal products, nor will vaccination result in deportation.
• Many, many people tolerate the vaccine very well and have no problems afterwards.
• Some people experience a few side effects after vaccination, e.g. pain in the
  upper arm, fever or headache, but these are only short-term.

                           Best regards, Petra Köpping
SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de
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    GENERAL INFORMATION
  • COVID-19 vaccination is voluntary and free of charge for all citizens. It is
    strongly recommended as a means of protecting yourself and enabling us all
    to find a way out of the pandemic.
  • Vaccination is open to anyone residing in Germany, or international citizens
    holding health insurance in Germany.
  • Only together, with all citizens acting in solidarity, will our everyday life be
    able to return to normal.

 THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION PORTALS
 FOR PATIENTS
• The latest information from the Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs
  and Social Cohesion:
  www.coronavirus.sachsen.de/coronaschutzimpfung.html
• Information from the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA):
  www.infektionsschutz.de/coronavirus
• Information from the German federal government in foreign languages:
  www.infektionsschutz.de/coronavirus
• The following authorities and institutes also provide the latest details and
  expert information:
  www.infektionsschutz.de/coronavirus
  www.rki.de/covid-19-impfen
  www.pei.de/coronavirus
• To participate in the survey on tolerance of COVID-19 vaccines, please use the
  SafeVac 2.0 app created by the Paul Ehrlich Institute (available in the Apple
  App Store or Google Play Store) or the following website:
  www.nebenwirkungen.bund.de
SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS –
AND ANSWERS
The vaccination process

            Why should I get vaccinated against COVID-19?
            Most people don’t even get seriously ill from it!
 • Did you know that the risk of becoming seriously ill or dying is much higher
   for COVID-19 than for the flu?
 • Vaccination is currently the best way to protect against illness and the
   potential consequences.
 • Only once approx. 70% of the population has immunity will transmission of
   SARS-CoV-2 be low enough for the pandemic to pass.

  Where can I get vaccinated?                How can I book a vaccination
                                               at a vaccination centre?
  • You can get vaccinated
    through vaccination centres,              • Use the portal
    mobile vaccination teams,                   sachsen.impfterminvergabe.de
    GPs, specialists and company                or call 0800 0899089.
    physicians. You cannot book                 PLEASE NOTE: the portal is only
    vaccination appointments                    available in German.
    through the health authorities.           • Or use the walk-in vaccination
                                                option daily at all vaccination
                                                centres except for Grimma.
  Are there interpreters at the
     vaccination centres?
                                                    Which is the right
  • No. Information sheets in                   information form for me?
    various languages can be found
    on the RKI website:                       • For BioNTech and Moderna,
    RKI - Informationsmaterial zum              you will require the information
    Impfen - Aufklärungsmerkblatt               sheet for mRNA vaccines. For
    zur COVID-19-Impfung mit                    AstraZeneca, you will require the
    mRNA-Impfstoff.                             information and medical-history
                                                forms for vector-based vaccines.
SAXONY'S ROLLING UP ITS SLEEVES - Information about COVID-19 vaccination - sachsen.de
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What happens if I can’t make my                   How many doses do I need?
second vaccination appointment?
                                                  • Depending on the vaccine,
  • The second dose of the vaccine                  you may have need to receive
    needs to be administered within                 a second dose of the vaccine
    a certain time frame.                           within a few weeks in order to
  • If you cannot make an                           achieve full immunity.
    appointment, please promptly                  • The vaccinator will advise you
    advise your vaccination centre                  whether a second dose will be
    by emailingbeschwerde@                          necessary.
    impfzentrum-sachsen.de,
    providing your contact details
    (name, telephone number,                  How can I arrange vaccination for
    email and reference number;                family members requiring care?
    the VC will then get back to
    you), or advise your doctor.                 • This is best done through your GP.

General questions

                         Can I get vaccinated if I have
                           already had COVID-19?
  • The general assumption is that having COVID-19 gives you immunity. But
    there is no definitive answer regarding how long this immunity lasts. So if you
    have already had the virus, you do not need to get vaccinated right now. But
    vaccination will not cause a problem even if you have unknowingly had the
    virus (asymptomatic).

               Do I still have to physically distance and wear
                a nose and mouth cover after vaccination?
  • Immunity is achieved approx. two to three weeks after the second dose – and
    even thereafter, you will still be required to adhere to the physical-distancing,
    hygiene and mask-wearing (AHA) rules. Despite the immunity, you may still
    transmit the virus, so the rules will remain in place for now – for everyone’s
    safety.
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Vaccine safety

      Are the vaccines safe?                    What vaccines are available?
  • The vaccines were trialled on              • Each of the vaccines is based on
    tens of thousands of people. So              the principle of ‘active immunity’.
    far, serious side effects have been          The body is presented with parts
    extremely uncommon.                          (antigens) or a blueprint for anti-
  • Possible common side effects                 gens of the COVID-19 pathogen,
    are mild to moderate pain at                 prompting the immune system to
    the injection site, tiredness                produce antibodies. The various
    or headache, which generally                 vaccines use different antigen
    disappear within two days.                   components and approaches here.
  • Reactions to vaccination are a             • mRNA (messenger ribonucleic
    good sign that your immune                   acid) constitutes the ‘building
    system is creating antibodies.               instructions’ for each of the
                                                 body’s individual proteins, and
  • Pre-approval studies found side
                                                 must not be confused with
    effects to occur in 1 in every 1000
                                                 genetic information (DNA).
    people. No information is as yet
                                                 mRNA vaccines for COVID-19
    available on long-term effects.
                                                 contain ‘building instructions’
  • It is impossible to discount certain         for a component of the virus,
    risks, but, in Germany, vaccines             known as the spike protein.
    are generally only ever approved             The spike proteins created after
    if they meet our very strict safety          vaccination are recognised by
    standards and have undergone                 the immune system as foreign
    extensive clinical trials.                   proteins, thereby activating
  • AstraZeneca also underwent an                specific defence cells.
    additional trial after some cases of       • Vector-based vaccines contain
    rare cerebral venous thromboses              pathogens – vectors – harmless
    occurred soon after vaccination.             to humans. A gene has been
    But the benefits of the vaccine in           integrated into these vectors,
    combating COVID-19 continue to               containing the blueprint for the
    outweigh the risk of side effects,           aforementioned spike protein.
    which is why the vaccine was re-             The advantage of these vaccines
    approved. The risk of suffering harm         is that they can be transported
    from the illness is much higher.             and stored at between 2 and 8
                                                 degrees Celsius.
Page 6 of 6

                           How were the vaccines able
                           to be developed so quickly?
  • Researchers already know a lot about SARS-CoV-2 from similar viruses.
  • This meant a good basis for developing COVID-19 vaccines was able to be
    laid relatively quickly.
  • Plus, researchers worldwide were all simultaneously working on it, sharing
    their latest results, and forwarding them directly to the testing authorities. Be-
    fore this pandemic, there had never been such a global scientific co-operation.
  • But don’t worry: No trial stages were omitted. It was a case of co-operations
    being more intensive in general, and multiple trial stages being conducted
    simultaneously.
  • The approved COVID-19 vaccines showed good tolerance and effectiveness in
    pre-approval clinical studies.

How effective are the COVID-19                           Can mRNA vaccines
           vaccines?                                      modify our genes?
 • Based on current information,                   • mRNA vaccines cannot be
   the vaccines are highly effective.                converted into DNA, and thus
 • The probability of contracting                    have no effect on our genes.
   COVID-19, was around 94-95 per                    While DNA and mRNA sound
   cent (BioNTech/Moderna) and                       similar, they are two very
   up to 70 per cent (AstraZeneca)                   different things.
   lower in vaccinated people than                 • When you receive an mRNA
   in participants injected with a                   vaccine, your body reacts by
   placebo. Johnson & Johnson has                    creating proteins, to which your
   an efficacy of approx. 65 per cent.               immune system in turn responds
 • How long immunity lasts is not                    by building antibodies, which then
   yet known.                                        protect you from the actual virus.

                    Do COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility?
 • Extensive pre-approval trials did not find any evidence to suggest the vaccines would
   cause male or female infertility.
Imprint:
Federal Ministry of Health
Public Relations Department, Publications | 11055 Berlin
www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de

Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion
Albertstraße 10, 01097 Dresden
Email: oeffentlichkeitsarbeit@sms.sachsen.de
www.sms.sachsen.de
www.coronavirus.sachsen.de

Editorial Key:
07/2021

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