Federal Association Pushes for Enhanced Data Gathering in the Coronavirus Battle
Martin Litsch, the head of the AOK federal association, has called for improvements in data collection during COVID-19 vaccinations in Germany. Litsch believes that the current data collection methods do not allow for identifying long-term effects and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
Litsch proposed linking vaccination information with billing data for anonymized evaluations of the effects and side effects of the vaccinations. He suggested recording and transmitting health insurance numbers of vaccinated and tested individuals to health insurers for data-protection-compliant evaluation.
The responsible authority for the introduction and enforcement of data collection and transmission of insured numbers during COVID-19 vaccinations and tests in Germany is primarily the responsible authorities of the federal states (Länder), including public health offices involved, as well as institutions designated by the Länder and the federal government such as mobile vaccination teams and vaccination centers.
Litsch expressed concern that many opportunities are being missed to gain valuable insights from the available data. He stated that current data collection methods do not provide the necessary information for long-term evaluations of reinfections or for inviting refreshers for the first vaccinations.
Litsch demanded that politics should act and implement the necessary improvements as soon as possible. He believes that many may complain within half a year about the inability to perform such evaluations in Germany compared to other countries. This could be particularly important for long-term evaluations of reinfections or for inviting refreshers for the first vaccinations.
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