An unprecedented challenge

It is one of 13 mobile units that are currently ensuring that elderly people requiring care in nursing homes and day care facilities can be the first to receive their coronavirus vaccinations. “The mobile vaccination units are so important because they enable us to reach those who are simply not able to come to us”, explains Stephan Hampel, vaccination centre project manager, who is well aware of the key contribution the mobile units are making to controlling the pandemic.

As it previously did with the MAN coronavirus diagnosis vehicle, MAN is supporting the fight against COVID 19 with the vaccination vehicles based on the MAN TGE. The MAN vans are fitted with special coolboxes that are properly secured and connected to the power supply, a key factor in supporting the teams’ work. The versatile little vehicle from Munich also provides sufficient space for the six-person team, the medical equipment and all their administrative materials such as computers and printers. The situation is something totally new for the vaccination centre staff too: “None of us has experienced anything like COVID before, so it’s really a dynamic challenge we are facing here”, says Stephan Hampel.

The key to ensuring that everything goes smoothly in spite of all the issues is that the vaccination centre is run like a business. It has been completely restructured with many staff from medical fields such as paramedics, but also people from sectors where there is currently no work because of the pandemic. According to Hampel, the experience as paramedics and from the medical sector that many staff have is extremely helpful and the rest is based on good business management.

As well as the overall project management at the large centre, each of the mobile teams has a team leader. Paula Tausch is one of them. She decides who does what jobs on which days, such as driving the MAN TGE or performing a range of other medical and administrative tasks.

“The challenge is that we have to reorganise ourselves every day because each day we travel to new locations where the situation is different.”

“Of course, every one of us is willing to roll up our sleeves, reinvent ourselves every day and sometimes improvise”, project manager Hampel confirms. But the level of gratitude shown by the vaccination teams’ patients is rewarding. “We are doing our bit for our community to ensure that we can all get our normal lives back as quickly as possible”, Stephan Hampel says.