More than two years have passed since the corona vaccination campaign began in Germany – since then, vaccination centres, doctors' surgeries and mobile vaccination teams have immunised almost 64 million people nationwide against Sars-CoV-2 at least once and administered a total of over 192 million injections. In individual cases, the corona vaccine has left permanent damage, and those affected have been complaining for months that medicine can hardly help them and that political leaders overlook them.

Kim Björn Becker

Editor in politics.

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Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has now spoken out in favour of vaccine damage having to be recognized more quickly. In addition, the manufacturers of the vaccines should participate in the state compensation payments for those affected, demanded Lauterbach on Sunday evening on ZDF. The minister said it was "valuable" for companies to participate in the consequences of the vaccination campaign. "Because the profits have been exorbitant. And so that would actually be more than a good gesture, but you could expect that."

According to research by the F.A.Z., the number of recognized corona vaccine damages has recently risen significantly again, albeit at a low level overall. By Monday afternoon, ten of the 16 federal states had responded to a corresponding request. In the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia, a total of 4818 applications for care benefits after a possible corona vaccination damage have been received by mid-March.

Number of vaccine damages almost doubled

This is a good third more than in October, when the F.A.Z. last collected the figures. The number of corona vaccine damages recognized by the supply offices, however, has almost doubled in the countries mentioned, rising from 115 to 212 cases. In the ten countries, a recognized corona vaccine damage comes to a good 178,000 vaccinated citizens.

The data from the federal states also show that the supply offices are mainly concerned with suspected vaccine damage in connection with a corona vaccination. In eight of the ten countries that provided up-to-date data, the number of applications and positive decisions is differentiated according to the respective vaccine. The 3684 applications that have been made there since 2021 after a corona vaccination are only 236 applications received after other vaccinations. Virtually none of them were approved.

Baden-Württemberg reports the total number of people who received care benefits after vaccination damage at the end of the year, regardless of the year of application. Most recently, there were 466 people in the southwest. In addition to 18 victims after a corona vaccination, 271 victims after a smallpox vaccination were on the list of the supply authorities, as well as 49 victims after a polio vaccination and 22 victims each who were immunized against influenza and diphtheria.

Lauterbach underlined on Sunday his demand that Corona vaccine victims must be helped. He will launch a program to examine the consequences of Long Covid and Post-Vac and improve care, Lauterbach said. "This is a program I want to launch as soon as possible. I'm basically in the budget negotiations for this money." The health policy spokesman of the Union parliamentary group, Tino Sorge (CDU), criticized Lauterbach. "The minister hesitated for far too long and closed his eyes to reality," says Sorge. "With his fatal statement that the vaccination is 'free of side effects', he has played down the worries and fears of those affected. It is now his duty to provide the necessary resources to provide support."