When medium-sized companies want to vaccinate

The vaccination lines have already been set up at large companies such as Telekom, Evonik and Deutsche Bahn. But can medium-sized companies do that too? The preparations are ongoing.

From Ingrid Bertram, WDR At the toilet paper manufacturer Hakle in Düsseldorf, the machines run in three shifts. 250 employees work here. With the corona crisis, no employee can be dispensed with anymore. And at the latest when one of his engineers was in the intensive care unit, Managing Director Volker Jung knew that no other of his employees should experience that. He has been trying to get the vaccine since January, but so far in vain. The tents for the vaccinations are ready, extra rooms are reserved and the company doctor has recruited doctors who are actually retired for the vaccinations. Basically, it could start – but patience is required instead. Will it all pay off? Probably not on paper: the company has already spent 300,000 euros on the PCR tests. The vaccination route will cost a lot less. But Volker Jung believes that two thirds of his workforce are willing to vaccinate. At least he wants to offer them something. He doesn’t want to lose anyone.

Persuasion by company doctors

Ralf Stoffels also has to be patient. He heads the BIW Isolierstoffe company. He would like to organize the vaccination through the company medical center. Not only his 550 employees, but even the entire Hagen-Ennepe-Ruhr industrial park could be supplied via this. But here, too, the vaccine is missing. Ralf Stoffels, who is also President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is convinced that companies can better reach many people with vaccinations. “Many of the employees do not even accept the voluntary offers,” says Stoffels. He’s already observing this in the voluntary tests. In other words, everything that costs time and does not fit into everyday work becomes a hurdle. “In the company it would be organizationally easier for many, and the company doctor could still do some persuasion.” Because most of Stoffel’s employees work in shifts, come from Eastern Europe or are refugees and trained in the company. Knowledge of the how and why of vaccination is often rudimentary.

Previous illnesses mostly unknown

But even if there are some arguments in favor of immunization at the company doctor – even Anette Wahl-Wachendorf from the Association of German Company and Company Doctors does not know when the first vaccinations will arrive in the company. “Many companies are in the starting blocks,” says the organization’s vice president. But there is actually still a lot to be clarified: For example, it must be ensured in the companies that they are regularly supplied by large pharmacies, as the mRNA vaccines can only be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. In addition, it has not yet been clarified who is liable in the event of vaccination reactions or side effects. “For that there should now be a basic state liability,” said Wahl-Wachendorf. And ultimately it must also be clear that the prioritization in the company no longer applies automatically, because after all, a company doctor can vaccinate according to age, but cannot take previous illnesses into account, as he usually does not know them. The company doctor believes that it would be better to first consider those who have the most customer contacts. But above all, none of this should entail any further bureaucratic effort. Because now it is a matter of vaccinating as many people as possible.