Status: 07/31/2021 1:17 a.m.
Is the incidence still sufficient as a decisive factor to assess the corona situation? There has been an argument about this for days. The German Hospital Society relies on a mix of several indicators – and calls on politicians to act.
The German Hospital Society (DKG) advocates a new mix of different indicators in order to be able to better assess the corona pandemic in view of the progress in vaccination.
The previously relevant seven-day incidence is only one of a total of twelve indicators, as reported by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) with reference to the concept at hand. Other key figures include the rate of positive tests, the vaccination rate and the clinic occupancy by Covid-19 sufferers, as well as factors that capture the dynamics of what is happening.
Call for a commitment to a mix of indicators
“With this matrix, it is easy to see at a glance what the current pandemic situation really is and what trends or connections there are,” said DKG boss Gerald Gaß to the RND. For example, one could quickly read from the table whether older, vaccinated people were coming to the clinics again because the vaccination protection was decreasing. “Politicians must finally act and define a mix of indicators,” he said.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) has long been urging that other key figures than the incidence be taken into account in order to assess the situation. Spahn referred in particular to the now high vaccination rate. A higher incidence then does not lead to an overload of the health system as quickly.
Incidence remains the most important early warning value for RKI
From the point of view of the Robert Koch Institute, this number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week remains the most important early warning value.
“That is incomprehensible to me,” said DKG boss Gass. After all, it is about “maintaining public acceptance for measures against Corona”. The problem is how other measures influence the incidence value. Gaß assumes, for example, that the new compulsory test for travelers returning will lead to rising incidences because more tests are simply carried out. These developments would have to be properly classified, for example compared with the rate of positive test results, he told the RND.