Vaccines at the Bonn Stadthaus Waiting times between 15 minutes and a couple of hours
Bonn · Waiting times vary considerably at the vaccination site in Bonn's Stadthaus in the city center. The city has listed new dates and times for the month of December. More and more medical practices are also providing immunizations but complain about the workload.
Many things in life can be planned, but the weather and waiting times outside the vaccination site in Bonn's Stadthaus cannot (the Stadthaus is the city administration building at Berliner Platz 2). This is evident these days in a drafty but covered area outdoors, where people have been able to get a first, second or third Covid-19 vaccine without making an appointment. The vaccine drive has been running since the beginning of November.
As reported recently, the waiting time can be several hours. Sometimes, however, everything happens very quickly and people only have to wait around 15 minutes to get their jab. Large numbers of people are also still going to medical practices for their vaccines. A representative of Bonn medical practitioners calls attention to the fact that practices are being stretched to the limit. In response to an inquiry, the city of Bonn says it plans to open up more vaccination sites in December.
Iris Kranefeld looks somewhat surprised. She is one of the lucky ones who hardly experiences any waiting time for her jab at the Stadthaus on a rainy morning at the end of November. "I had planned for considerably more time, partly because we heard it would take longer," says the young woman. For her, it is the third Covid vaccine, "I have a severely disabled brother whom I want to protect at all costs." Only the Moderna vaccine was available but this didn't bother Kranefeld: "I've read in trusted sources that it's totally okay."
When it rains, the wait can be miserable
A city employee confirms that the waiting time varies considerably. As a rule of thumb, "all hell breaks loose" early in the morning. Indeed, on this Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., a sizable line formed. "But despite that, it was relatively quick," says one young man, who quickly left the Stadthaus after his jab. "It's raining, so a covered waiting area would be nice." City spokeswoman Barbara Löcherbach responds to the situation in this way: "We are planning further (vaccination) offers and will inform people about them in due time.”
People can now wait in one of seven vaccination lines at the Stadthaus. More capacity is one possible reason for recently shorter waiting times. Löcherbach also says they plan to offer more sites in the near future: "In doing so, we are relying on decentralized vaccination sites and will also open additional vaccination sites in December. The planning is underway." According to GA information, these current plans are being developed together with a committee of Bonn physicians.
City believes it’s vaccination drive is solid
As early as the beginning of November, the city administration said that the public health department was in the planning stage for further vaccination sites throughout the city. While experts in many places emphasize the positive impact of making it easy to get a vaccine, the city of Bonn points out the efforts it has made until now: "According to current vaccination decrees for NRW, the cities are responsible for supplementing the vaccine services offered by medical practices. We are, of course, fulfilling this mandate," says Löcherbach. The NRW Ministry of Health has set a target of 670 vaccinations daily in Bonn, and this goal has long been met.
Vaccinations offered at the current central locations have been very well-received: "They are easy to reach by public transport and people take advantage of these offers more then they did with the vaccination center at WCCB. That’s why the opening of a new vaccination center is not in the cards. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is in favor of decentralized vaccination sites, says Löcherbach. There are also no plans to reactivate the mobile vaccination bus that was used during warmer weather.
Many people still seeking vaccines in private practices
The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Nordrhein (KVNO - North Rhine Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians) says that many private practices in Bonn are willing to offer vaccinations: "According to information from our specialist department, Bonn is actively involved in vaccination activities. Since the beginning of October, almost 70 mobile vaccination offers have been carried out by the city and KVNO to date, with more than 230 doctors involved; especially since mid-November, there has been a strong momentum in mobile vaccinations in Bonn."
The number of practices offering vaccinations has increased again, with 221 of them registered with the KVNO as of November 28. The association also lists public vaccine drives by individual practices in December on its website. Dieter Krafft, a general practitioner in Bonn, said that the fluctuating volumes of the vaccine and the change from Biontech to Moderna required a considerable amount of extra clarification.” Krafft, who is also the spokesman for the North Rhine General Practitioners' Association, believes that additional vaccination sites in the city, based on the quantities of vaccine available, would be sensible - "in order to improve the speed of vaccinations to the population.”
(Orig. text: Alexander Barth / Translation: Carol Kloeppel)
