Compromise Scenario Health Authorities
A vaccination at the family doctor, as it is usual with other vaccinations, would be the most comfortable solution for the vaccinated persons due to the very short travel time. In view of the expected scarcity of the vaccine, the vaccination prioritization of endangered groups of persons as well as the short shelf life of opened vaccination containers, such a scenario holds however the danger of waste. In addition, the necessary cooling infrastructure cannot be implemented in the practices depending on the requirements.
The very well-equipped university hospitals meet the technical requirements - however, there are only 38 university hospitals in Germany. This leads to a significantly longer travel time and thus to a reduced willingness to get vaccinated. In addition, the centralization of vaccination requires a mature hygiene concept, but the proposed vaccination prioritization is easier to adhere to.
A compromise scenario is the 400 health authorities, which could at least be equipped with less specialized cooling technology. The study also shows, however, that 81 well-positioned vaccination centers are sufficient to ensure that 75 percent of the population can be vaccinated within 35 km beeline.