FAQ
Testing
When should I have a corona test?
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If you experience flu-like symptoms. These include dry cough, shortness of breath, and fever. A typical symptom of corona is the loss of the sense of smell and taste. This is especially true for people from the “risk group”, i.e. previously ill and elderly people, or for those who are in close contact with them, for example nursing staff.
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If you have had contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus, whether you have symptoms or not. This can be a case in your own household or in the shared apartment or if the Corona warning app sounds the alarm.
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If you live or work in shared accommodation, student dormitories, asylum seekers’ homes, school, day care center, prison, care facility, hospital, doctor’s office, etc. and an infected person has stayed there. This also applies to guests at events with many people in the closed space, such as large weddings or parties.
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If you are returning from a trip abroad.
What COVID-19 test procedures are there?
SARS-CoV-2 infections can be detected by PCR or a rapid antigen test. We can test with both methods.
What is a PCR test?
This test procedure detects the genetic material of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). If the test is positive, there is an infection with the virus. The PCR laboratory test is considered to be the safest way to detect an infection.
Material from the mouth, nose or throat is required for the smear. Obtaining material from the deep throat is important, so a swab causes a brief gag reflex in most people. If the material is not removed from the correct location, the test will be evaluated as “invalid” in the laboratory.
What is a rapid antigen test?
The rapid antigen test shows a result after approx. 30 minutes. In order for it to display a valid result, a larger amount of virus is required compared to the PCR test, as the test has a lower sensitivity. Due to the lower sensitivity, a negative antigen rapid test result does not rule out an infection with SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, a positive antigen rapid test result must also be confirmed with a PCR test.
How can I be sure that it has not been tested incorrectly?
In the PCR test, our samples are also checked for sufficient material on the sample. If it is determined that the sample does not contain enough material for evaluation, the test will be marked as “invalid”. A false negative result of the PCR test can thus be excluded.
How long will it take to get my result?
With the PCR test you will receive your result after approx. 24-72 hours. With the rapid antigen test after approx. 30 minutes.
Which documents do I need on site?
You need the QR code you created in advance and your ID. You can create the QR code in advance at portal.huber-health-care.com/signup and book a corresponding appointment.
Where can I sign in?
You can register in advance at portal.huber-health-care.com/signup, book an appointment and then receive your personal QR code. You will also need this on site for verification.
How can I pay for the test?
In Baden-Württemberg, as a private person, you can pay directly on site by bank transfer, credit card, PayPal or your giro card.
In Bavaria, the tests are free for all citizens of Bavaria.
Vaccinate
How does BioNTech’s vaccine work?
BNT162b2 is an mRNA vaccine. This means that it contains pieces of genetic material that serve as a template for the actual vaccination: the mRNA is channeled into the human cells as a messenger of information. It is encoded on the composition of the protein that triggers the actual vaccination reaction. This vaccination involves parts of the so-called spike protein, also called sting protein in German. This is the part of the virus that the immune system recognizes as hostile, only to unleash a whole body of immune cells that eliminate the pathogen. The cells produce this protein themselves from the template. The mRNA is then either broken down or disintegrates by itself.
Unlike vaccines, with which, for example, protein parts are administered directly, BNT162b2 does not require an active enhancer (adjuvant). Once the mRNA has made it into the cells, it can develop its effect without any auxiliary means. The research team that developed the vaccine, however, had to find a way to safely smuggle the mRNA into the cells: They provided the mRNA with a coat of lipid nanoparticles. These are spherical molecules that are made up of fatty acids and shield their cargo in a cavity from the environment. If the researchers were to leave out this taxi, the mRNA would be destroyed before it reached the inside of the cells.
The active ingredient is injected directly into the muscle using a syringe. In order to optimally prepare the immune system for a real infection, two doses of vaccine are required for BNT162b2. The first is called the prime dose because it is supposed to stimulate the immune system, but above all it is there to pave the way for the second booster dose. According to the manufacturer, both doses should provoke a stronger immune reaction than one alone.
How well does the vaccination protect against Covid-19?
According to the data so far, BNT162b2 protects against symptomatic Covid 19 infection with an effectiveness of 95 percent.
The results also show that the vaccine prevents symptomatic Covid-19 infection with similar effectiveness across all age and gender groups. It works for people with different ethnic backgrounds as well as for people with different previous illnesses. These findings are particularly important for older people because they are at the greatest risk of developing serious Covid-19. In addition, their immune system no longer reacts as strongly as that of younger people on average.
Does the vaccine also protect against infection?
In the best case scenario, a vaccination also prevents a person who has been vaccinated from contracting an infected person, the virus from spreading to their mucous membrane and then – even though they do not feel sick – from sneezing, coughing or breathing to others for a few days. Such a vaccination ensures sterile or sterilizing immunity in technical jargon. And that would be very helpful for achieving herd immunity, because the virus cannot spread undetected among vaccinated people and spread to non-vaccinated people.
However, it is not yet clear whether the BioNTech Covid vaccination creates sterile immunity. One of the main reasons: it’s not easy to grasp. One way of finding out whether the vaccine protects against infection is to also search for asymptomatic infections in a clinical study, i.e. for people who are not aware of their infection but can pass the virus on. Then one could compare whether fewer such asymptomatic cases occur in the group of vaccinated persons than in the placebo group.
How long does it take for vaccination to protect?
People must be vaccinated twice three weeks apart for full effectiveness. A vaccine dose of 30 micrograms is administered in each case. The 95 percent effectiveness was determined 28 days after the first dose and seven days after the second dose.
The FDA writes that some research by BioNTech and Pfizer has suggested that the vaccine may be effective after just one dose. That would mean that people who miss their second dose might have some protection against Sars-CoV-2. The FDA cannot confirm this conclusion. There is not yet enough data for this. For the time being, the full vaccination protection should only be achieved one week after the second dose.
How long does the protection last?
That is unclear: Since the start of the phase three studies, too little time has simply passed to make a statement about whether the vaccine will protect against Covid-19 after many months. The months or years to come will therefore bring the definitive answer to the question. It will then be shown whether the current effect – 95 percent fewer people in the vaccinated group than in the placebo group get sick from Covid-19 – will weaken over time. In addition, the study doctors check the antibody levels of the vaccinated again and again to answer the question.
What is known about side effects?
The data on frequent and slightly more severe side effects are based on around 38,000 participants aged 16 and over who were followed up on average two months after the second dose. Those vaccinated most frequently reported redness, swelling or pain at the injection site (84.1 percent), 62.9 percent fatigue, 55.1 percent headache, 31.9 percent chills and 14.2 percent fever.
Such immediate vaccination reactions, which are often temporary after hours or a few days, can sometimes be quite strong with mRNA vaccines, as is also evident from initial experience with the mRNA vaccine from the US company Moderna. Some experts suspect that the body reacts to the lipid nanoparticles in which the mRNA is transported into the cells. So you should be prepared for violent but temporary reactions after a vaccination. Particularly severe transient reactions – those that make activities of daily living impossible – occurred in 2.8 percent of the participants over the age of 55 and in 4.6 percent of the participants under 55.
It is not uncommon for people with a previous history to be allergic to new drugs or vaccinations. Such severe allergic side effects did not occur in the study. However, according to the study protocol (PDF), people with a history of severe allergies were also not allowed to participate.
How are side effects followed up?
Even after a vaccine is approved, it is closely monitored to see what effect it has on people. This is a common practice. Vaccine manufacturers are obliged to do so by the regulatory authorities on the one hand, and authorities such as the Paul Ehrlich Institute are actively monitoring the market launch on the other. The reason: Even in such large vaccine studies as the one for BioNTech’s vaccine, in which around 40,000 test subjects took part, not all side effects can be recorded. Some don’t reveal themselves until the vaccine is actually used in the population. For example, those that affect only one in 100,000 or one in a million vaccinated. In addition, there are always people in the population who react particularly to a vaccination, for example because of a special illness.
Are children also vaccinated?
Not for now, because there is not enough data on this yet. The evaluation of the phase three study by BioNTech and Pfizer is based on the results of participants who were at least 16 years old. However, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 were also vaccinated and the results are to be delivered, the scientists write. Further studies on children under the age of twelve are also planned.
Are there any more vaccines coming soon?
There are several other vaccines that are either nearing approval or are very advanced in the final clinical trials. The US company Moderna has also applied for approval for its vaccine in the US and Europe. ChAdOx1-S, a vector vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson are also promising candidates for upcoming approvals. Other vaccines have been approved in China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. It is unclear whether they will ever reach the European market.
Source: Zeit.de
Are hygiene rules, keeping your distance and wearing a mask still important?
If a vaccine would completely protect against infection or prevent infected people from infecting others, it would be – at least medically – justifiable that vaccinated people no longer have to adhere to hygiene rules in the midst of a pandemic. But that is not to be expected. According to current information, the vaccination protection is not 100 percent and there is a lack of reliable data that suggest that it also prevents infections and not just the Covid-19 disease.
This means: There is still a certain risk that people who have been vaccinated can pass the virus on without being noticed – and it increases if these people no longer adhere to their distances and hygiene rules. The situation is similar for people who have already survived the infection. At least while the virus can still spread almost unstoppably in a population in the middle of the pandemic, such exceptions do not make sense for those who have been vaccinated.