Despite a recent decline in interest in Corona vaccinations, Berlin's two remaining vaccination centers are to remain in operation for several more months. As the health administration announced on Thursday, the center at the fair will continue to operate until November 30 and the one in Tegel until January 31.Important task of both facilities should be, according to the report, the booster vaccinations for seniors and people with weak immune systems. These had initially started on September 1 with mobile teams in nursing homes.

According to the German Red Cross (DRK), invitations for the booster have now been sent to around 200,000 seniors aged 80 and over whose second vaccination was at least six months ago. They can get vaccinated at vaccination centers or at their family doctor's office with Biontech or Moderna products. First RBB had reported.

"In old age, vaccination protection against the Coronavirus is of outstanding importance," emphasized Health Senator Dilek Kalayci (SPD). "Through the first and second vaccinations, many severe courses of disease could be prevented and lives saved." A booster, she said, could again stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies and thus strengthen the protective effect.

The operators DRK and Malteser recommend that affected citizens make an appointment before visiting a vaccination center to avoid long waiting times. This can be done by telephone via the Corona hotline 030/9028-2200 (daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or online via the Doctolib portal. Meanwhile, the health administration explicitly pointed out that vaccinations for seniors, as for all other people, are possible at any time without an appointment.

The seniors now invited to the refresher can use a cab free of charge for the trip to the centers and back home (order at 030/230023 or 030/261026), the DRK added. This service was already well received during the first vaccinations.Originally, there were six large vaccination centers in Berlin, which, according to initial plans, were to be in operation by the end of September at the latest. Four of them have since been closed again. According to the DRK, around 200,000 people aged 80 and older live in Berlin. 170,000 of them live in their own homes, the rest in senior citizen and care facilities.

Image by Ahmad Ardity