The rapid development of an effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is one of the greatest successes in the history of medical research. Four different vaccines (two of them vector-based and two RNA-based) are now licensed in the EU (see Table 1); the vaccination process has begun. Given the renewed rapid increase in the number of infections, it is imperative to use vaccination efficiently and rapidly as an effective tool to reduce deaths and infections and to bring the pandemic under control. Currently, the average number of initial vaccinations is about 200,000. This rate must be increased at least four- to fivefold in the shortest possible time for nationwide vaccination to thwart the expected third, severe Covid-19 wave. Bureaucratically overloaded and complex logistical procedures in vaccination strategies must give way to pragmatism and common sense so that the vaccination rate can be greatly elicited-as is now needed. This toolbox (TB) makes specific suggestions on how to increase the efficiency and speed of the vaccination process.
In the current sharply worsening pandemic situation, the recommendations for action in the previous No-COVID toolboxes also remain valid and their implementation is increasingly urgent.