Many companies want to vaccinate themselves

Corona vaccinations are still essentially limited to vaccination centers and general practitioners. But many companies would like to vaccinate their staff themselves as soon as possible – and feel held back by politics.

By Jochen Braitinger, SWR At the fan manufacturer EBM-Papst with headquarters in Mulfingen, Baden-Württemberg, people have been thinking for months about how their own workforce could be vaccinated – purely organizationally. The plans have long been in the drawer, right through to the shuttle service. “It’s about 3,500 employees who would have to come from different plants,” says Ralf Stehle from the company’s pilot vaccination center working group. “We have our own bus routes that we want to use for this.” Stefan Brandl, the boss of EBM-Papst, applied to the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann last month: as a “pilot company for Covid-19 vaccinations”. After three weeks of waiting, the rejection came. The companies should start vaccinations when the vaccine is no longer in short supply, writes the state ministry of the state. There is no need for a model project in a company. The initiative at EBM-Papst does not seem to be desired, at least in the short term.

EBM Papst boss Stefan Brandl wants more flexibility in the vaccination campaign. Image: dpa

Company doctors could accelerate the rate of vaccination

In the VW plants in the state of Saxony, on the other hand, vaccination against Corona is already taking place. It is a model project on behalf of the German Red Cross, writes Volkswagen AG in a press release. The aim is to vaccinate a clearly defined risk group in the workforce from the Vogtland district – a high incidence area. Company vaccinations could help to accelerate the vaccination coverage of the population, according to the Federation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA). With the use of company doctors, according to BDA estimates, the working hours of 6,000 full-time doctors could also be contributed. In addition, it would be easier to organize vaccination within the company for the approximately 31 million employees.

Larger amounts of vaccine expected from May

If the forecasts of experts are correct, more vaccine against the coronavirus will be available from May this year. According to the Association of German Company and Works Doctors (VDBW), there would then be nothing in the way of a nationwide vaccination, including in companies. However, after more than a year of the corona pandemic, many questions are still open: It is still not clear how company doctors should be rewarded, who is liable and how the vaccine gets into the factories, says VDBW President Wolfgang Panter.

Mark Shiring, the US boss of EBM-Pope, taking a vaccination selfie in the drive-through. 30 percent of his employees there are already vaccinated. Image: SWR

Company wants to keep applying pressure

At the EBM-Papst headquarters in Mulfingen, there is a great longing for normalcy. At the moment, employees are given a Corona self-test twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. 50,000 test kits are in stock, another 50,000 have been ordered. But CEO Brandl would prefer a vaccinated workforce. He is the boss of a total of 15,000 employees. The company also has plants in China and the United States. Far more employees are currently vaccinated abroad than in Germany, according to Brandl. “We have probably now reached a capacity of over 30 percent at our location in the USA. This shows that the Americans are much less bureaucratic, faster – and that would of course also be nice if we could do that in Germany.”

Companies keep applying pressure

The pilot vaccination center working group at EBM-Papst around Ralf Stehle is disappointed by the rejection of its own pilot vaccination center, but is not discouraged – even if the decision of the state government and the lack of vaccines forces them to wait and see. Meanwhile, company boss Brandl continues to apply pressure: “If we want to bring speed into the vaccination campaign, then we need the companies. And we will not let up and continue to work at the ministry that it can be done quickly and that we can quickly get involved in this strategy.” . “