Chancellor Sebastian Kurz stressed on Thursday that vaccination against the corona virus would be the “game changer in the fight against the pandemic”. “I am glad that we now have certainty that we will start vaccinating in Austria as early as January and can thus return to normality as early as next summer,” he said during a visit to the biotech company Polymun in Klosterneuburg.
The next months would be still very challenging, but there is by the vaccine light at the end of the tunnel , repeated the Chancellor its statement already several times.
First vaccines expected soon
At Polymun, important parts for the vaccine are developed and produced by BioNTech/Pfizer. According to the Federal Chancellery, this vaccine will most likely be among the first to receive approval in Europe. “I am very grateful that there is an Austrian company here in Klosterneuburg that is producing an essential component for one of the first vaccines to be approved,” said the head of government. He is pleased that a domestic company will thus make a decisive contribution to containing this global pandemic.
Asked about the still large number of vaccination sceptics in Austria, Kurz emphasized that it was important to him to note that there was no compulsory vaccination. “There is a large majority of the population that is willing to be vaccinated. I assume that this number will also increase steadily as more and more people are vaccinated and it is seen that this is safe to do”. With the vaccine, a return to normality is possible, he emphasized.
Andreas Wagner of Polymun said that the vaccination is one hundred percent safe, “that’s what I assume”. Regarding the skepticism about RNA vaccines, which has been expressed again and again because they are new, Wagner said that this is not true. There are also other mRNA vaccines, such as those against influenza or rabies, “there have been no reservations or problems.” He also said that concerns about rapid approval were unfounded: “No shortcuts are being taken,” he emphasized. Rather, he said, work would be carried out more quickly and in parallel, but there would be no compromises in terms of safety.
hp with reports from ORF.at/agencies. picture: pixabay.com
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