Israel, the country with one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, will be introducing mandatory indoor masks again next week – just two weeks after it was lifted. In the country that apparently had overcome the pandemic, the number of new infections reported has recently risen significantly again. This should be a warning to anyone who thinks they have the virus under control.
Summer sun and vaccinations alone are not enough to bring the coronavirus in its latest variant, Delta, under control. In Germany, the incidence is still falling, but regardless of the reassuringly small numbers, a shift is taking place: a new virus is taking control. Delta is much more contagious than the previously circulating virus variants, and the fourth wave is already looming. Now it depends on the behavior of the people and the decisions of the politicians how bad it gets in autumn.
It is unbelievable that tens of thousands are allowed to pour into the stadiums again
Probably the fourth wave will be different from the previous ones. Hopefully fewer people will die. Most of the people for whom the virus can be particularly dangerous, especially the older cohorts, are already largely protected by vaccinations. However, the hospitals can also be overloaded with younger patients. With the right treatment, their chances of survival are good, but they can still become seriously ill. New data from Norway also show that many of the mildly ill younger people between 16 and 30 years of age still have persistent symptoms six months after infection, which are associated with impaired brain function. The most common problems include tiredness, impaired concentration and memory, and a reduced sense of smell. Many in this age group will still be unvaccinated in autumn. Not to mention the children for whom there is still no approved vaccine.
Against this background, it seems unbelievable that tens of thousands of people will again be able to stream into football stadiums in the coming week. The two hours in the stadium are the smallest problem. The time before and after in the subways, planes and pubs give the virus enough opportunity to find new hosts. The pan-European superspreading event, the European Football Championship, puts the countries involved in an epidemiologically unfavorable starting position even before the summer is over.
It will be difficult to recapture the virus. But it is still not too late to decide on a low-incidence strategy. To this end, a renewed increase in the number of cases must be prevented faster and more intelligently than the federal emergency brake prescribes. How this works has long been tried and tested: masks, distance, as few contacts as possible, ventilate and filter air, vaccinate. Then the children who have no choice between vaccine and infection are also protected.