After the Easter holidays, the waiting room in Gerd Jahny’s doctor’s office in Ralbitz is full. More than a dozen patients are waiting to be admitted to the doctor. The phone barely stands still. “I expected that there would be an interest in the vaccinations. But I did not expect that such an overwhelming wave would come our way,” says the doctor. Since Tuesday, a doctor’s assistant has only been taking care of calls to assign vaccination appointments. It is not available for other tasks in practice.
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The corona vaccinations give the practice team a lot more work. Because the vaccinations could not just be inserted into everyday practice, explains Gerd Jahny. Biontech’s vaccine must be administered in blocks. Six syringes are drawn out of an ampoule and must be inoculated within a few hours. To do this, he called six patients to the practice today. But patients with other concerns are also queuing up. The nurse at the reception has to keep asking for her patience. They could only get it in an hour and a half. Still no trace of the hectic pace.
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It actually went back to normal. Politicians said: Then let’s go. And then they gave us the vaccine last night: ‘Do it! You will somehow manage it. ‘ We’ll get it too. But it has to get used to it.
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The syringe from Biontech – nothing for home visits
His doctor’s office received 24 vaccine doses for this week. Jahny ordered it from the pharmacy. The lady in the purple knitted sweater, who is just handing a completed form over the reception desk, will get a syringe. “I called early on and it worked. You also have to be a bit lucky,” says the 80-year-old with a laugh. She also tried to make an appointment at the vaccination center in Kamenz. Now she is happy that it worked out for her family doctor around the corner. “It’s much more convenient for me,” says the woman. But she assures that she would also get vaccinated by a strange doctor. Now she is waiting calmly for Doctor Jahny’s spades. “I assume that it will work out fine. I have no problems with other vaccinations either.”
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The patients who are vaccinated in the Ralbitz doctor’s practice today are still walking well. Less mobile patients have to be patient until Gerd Jahny also receives other vaccines. “I don’t think I will do the home visit injections with Biontech for the time being. Because this vaccine can only be drawn up in the syringe for a few hours. Drawing up is a somewhat more complicated process than with other vaccinations. If it is drawn up in the syringe, he is allowed to also no longer be shaken. ” Driving the vaccine over bumpy roads could be a problem, the doctor explains.
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“Immense” documentation effort
But Jahny is happy that he can administer the vaccinations less bureaucratically in his practice. “At the vaccination center I had to give five signatures for each injection. Here I only need three.” The documentation effort is nevertheless “immense” and “far too much”. “There is a lot of paper to deal with, not to be compared with the usual vaccinations that we also do on the side or, for example, with the flu vaccination.” Jahny explains this with the comparatively short time in which the vaccines were brought onto the market. “Of course you want to be particularly thorough with monitoring side effects,” the internist suspects.
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Despite the great effort, Jahny estimates that he could inject up to 50 patients per week with the corona vaccination. He observes that most patients come to the vaccination appointment well informed. This information is not always correct. He has to “straighten things out” every now and then, says Jahny. In comparison to working in the vaccination center, however, he has the advantage in his practice that he knows the patients better and they know him. “I don’t want to convince anyone about the vaccination,” emphasizes the family doctor. He explains the facts to the patient from his point of view. Many patients would then also opt for the vaccination because they trust Jahny.
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