More than three million vaccinations have now been given in Austria in the fight against the Corona pandemic. This was announced by Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein on Friday.
The vaccination coverage rate in the Austrian population was thus above 25 percent as of 0:00 on April 30. According to the E-vaccination passport, 2,225,301 people have received at least partial vaccination, 828,984 and thus 9.3 percent of Austrians are fully immunized.
More than 46,000 Corona vaccinations on average per day
According to Mückstein, 1.2 million stings against SARS-CoV-2 were administered in April alone. “After surpassing two million vaccinations on April 10, the three million mark was cracked during the course of yesterday. We thus stand today at a good 3.05 million vaccinations in Austria. Since March 30, more than 1.4 million vaccinations have been administered in Austria, more than 46,000 vaccinations on average per day,” the Health Minister summed up.
Accordingly, at the end of March, slightly more than 32 percent of people over the age of 65 had been vaccinated; one month later, the figure was more than 66 percent. That figure also doubled for the total vaccine-eligible population, the health ministry said. Among the vaccine-eligible population, 15 percent had received at least the first prick by the end of March, and nearly 30 percent had received at least the first dose of Corona vaccine by the end of April.
Vaccination pace dependent on vaccine availability
“April showed us how well we can improve the vaccination pace in Austria when sufficient vaccine is available. In May, we expect around 500,000 doses of vaccine delivered per week. This means we will be able to increase the pace of vaccination significantly once again. In June, this figure will rise to 700,000 doses per week,” said Mückstein, explaining the next steps.
This will allow the start of phase 3 of the vaccination plan in May, which is to be characterized by a broad availability of vaccine. This should allow large segments of the population to be immunized soon, but the primary prioritization will continue to be based on age and health risks, he said. In the course of the coming weeks, he said, a widespread opening of enrollment is expected in all states.
Mueckstein aims to get all those willing to be vaccinated by summer
“This will allow us to easily meet our vaccination goals of vaccinating all those willing to be vaccinated by the summer. Up to 70 percent of the vaccine-eligible population is realistic if we all help together,” Mueckstein explained. June will be the first time that there will be more vaccine available than there are people willing to be vaccinated, he said. “Then it will be a matter of convincing those people in Austria who are still hesitant of the usefulness of the Corona vaccination. It is the key in the fight against the pandemic and will bring us back many of our accustomed freedoms. That is why I ask everyone to take advantage of this important offer and book a vaccination appointment at the first opportunity,” appealed Mückstein.
— sources: APA and vienna.at/picture: pixabay.com
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