Actions in many cities: vaccination without a Christmas break

The federal government has set 30 million vaccinations as a target by the end of the year. Time is running out – even over the holidays, people are vaccinated in churches, hotels or vaccination centers. The day before Christmas Eve there were 710,000 vaccinations.

The vaccination campaign in Germany should remain at a high level over the holidays. The federal government’s self-imposed goal of 30 million corona vaccinations between mid-November and the end of the year cannot be achieved otherwise. The time is running. By Wednesday it was more than 28 million, said Germany’s Corona General Carsten Breuer. “We’re just short of our real goal.”

On the day before Christmas Eve alone, 710,000 vaccinations were administered, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), of which 561,000 were booster vaccinations to refresh the vaccination protection. The previous record was set on December 15 with a total of 1.6 million cans.

Vaccinate and pray

Also on today’s Christmas Eve there were vaccination campaigns in many places. In many cities, the vaccination centers are open by the hour, such as Offenbach and Kassel. 120 people were vaccinated in Frankfurt Cathedral, and vaccinations are also carried out in Cologne Cathedral. Already in the morning a little snake formed, which gradually got longer and longer. “We assume that we can administer four to five hundred doses of the vaccine,” said a spokesman for the cathedral. “The people are already standing around half the cathedral.”

Vaccination marathon in Duisburg

In a hotel at Duisburg main station, a doctor invites you to an 81-hour vaccination marathon. Neurologist Ahmad-Mujtaba Mostakiem told the dpa that he hired around 15 employees and ordered several thousand vaccine doses from various manufacturers – including children’s vaccines. Vaccination should be done around the clock. The promotion runs until December 27th at 6 p.m.

According to the RKI, at least 58.9 million people have so far been vaccinated twice or have received a single vaccination from Johnson & Johnson. That is 70.8 percent of the total population. At least 29.8 million people have also received a third vaccination.

On the RKI dashboard it is pointed out that the vaccination rates are to be understood as minimum vaccination rates, “since 100% coverage cannot be achieved by the reporting system”. The RKI assumes that the actual vaccination rate is up to five percentage points higher.

30 million more vaccinations by the end of January

The federal government wants to keep the vaccination rate high in the new year. Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to achieve a corona vaccination rate of 80 percent in Germany by January 7th. The goal relates to the first vaccinations. On this day, he wants to discuss the fight against the corona pandemic with the prime ministers of the federal states for the next time. Scholz is aiming for 30 million more booster vaccinations by the end of January.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer assumes that the facility-related vaccination requirement, the offer of another vaccine (Novavax) and appeals will significantly increase the vaccination rate. Dreyer once again appealed to vaccine skeptics to deal intensively with the question with a view to the community. “Ten million unvaccinated people in Germany is simply too great a risk for society as a whole,” said the SPD politician, also referring to the highly contagious Omikron variant.

Debate about compulsory vaccination

The debate about compulsory vaccination should also gain momentum. The Ethics Council had recently advocated this, but subject to conditions and not unanimously. RKI boss Lothar Wieler also expressed concerns. “Basically, I am not a fan of mandatory vaccinations,” he told the editorial network in Germany. One could not assume “that everyone will then be vaccinated,” he said. But it is also clear that the continued high number of unvaccinated adults is a problem.

The Bundestag is expected to vote in January or February on a general vaccination requirement – without any parliamentary group. The form of such a law is also unclear: It would be conceivable, for example, that there would be an obligation for all adults or only for certain risk and age groups. It is expected that parliamentarians across party lines will come together and present so-called group motions, which will then be voted on. One is already available: FDP Vice President and Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki has formulated a group application with party colleagues against a general vaccination requirement.