"Once again, the city has not planned well. There have been very long queues since 12 noon at the Stadthaus. People who want to be vaccinated have to stand in line for over an hour," said Claudia Koenig from Plittersdorf. But Gabi Pecina was not surprised by the queues at the Stadthaus. The fact that so many people came probably had to do with common sense, said the 49-year-old. She explains: "You can get Long Covid after the Omicron virus." She has been vaccinated four times so far, but not yet against the latest variant. Like the others, she simply came to the town hall that morning without an appointment. There, a staff member went down the line to ask for preliminary data.

Another woman has already been vaccinated three times and has had Covid once so far. She came as a precaution, especially since she had a precondition. A 55-year-old man from Plittersdorf thinks the fourth vaccination is a good idea. Waiting a little while doesn't bother him. "I can work at the same time. That's not a problem," he said.

"I'm actually pleased about the long queue, because it means that a lot of people are getting vaccinated," said Engelbert Buhren from Godesberg. He would rather wait a little until it’s his turn instead of perhaps being hospitalised later. Joachim Engel from Buschdorf was also happy to put up with the wait. "Well, of course, I have time. It's not all that bad." However, he had not expected so many people to do likewise. The situation could become a little less tense because the city has now opened its centre every Saturday and no longer only every other Saturday.

There are other vaccination centres in Bonn

If you don't have so much time, you can also make an appointment at private vaccination centres that provide boosters on behalf of the city. One is the Corona-Impfung-Bonn GmbH at Clemens-August-Straße 32 and the Corona vaccination centre "Meine.Klinik" at Rochusstraße 289, which usually deals with mental health, neurology, psychosomatics and addiction.

"There are definitely more people coming again," said a staff member - also there to get a BA.4/5 booster. For example, the clinic is currently recording more bookings than in previous weeks. Vaccination runs alongside normal clinic operations, she said.

According to the city, the new vaccine is only used as a booster and not for basic immunisation (first and second vaccination). The Biontech/Pfizer preparation can be administered from the age of twelve, "the Moderna preparation only from the age of 30".

But there is more on offer: in addition to the adapted vaccines from Moderna and Biontech, the Covid-19 vaccine Valneva is now also offered at the vaccination sites. "This inactivated vaccine can be used for basic immunisation of persons aged 18 to 50 years," the administration said. A booster vaccination with Valneva is not possible, it said. The incidence figure for Bonn on Wednesday was 649 (based on 100,000 inhabitants).

The municipal vaccination centre has been open more frequently again since 1 October: Wednesdays from 12 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The next open vaccination campaign in the Tannenbusch Haus Vielimbusch is on Friday, 21 October, from 1.30 to 5.30 p.m. (Oppelner Straße 130). More at www.bonn.de/impfen. (Original text: Richard Bongartz / Translation: Jean Lennox)