The German Hospital Society (DKG) is calling for the German Ethics Council to position itself on the subject of corona vaccination. On Monday in Berlin, she appealed to the federal government to instruct the Ethics Council to assess whether certain professional groups are required to be vaccinated.
The debate about compulsory vaccination, which has been simmering for weeks, is counterproductive and will rather reduce the willingness to vaccinate both in the affected professional groups and in the general population, fears the DKG board chairman Gerald Gaß. Employers and employees would be left alone with this question. “It is the government’s political responsibility to have the ethics council put in guard rails,” said the representative of the hospitals in Germany.
The Ethics Council had already positioned itself in 2019 to differentiate itself from the measles vaccination requirement. On this basis, the ethics council’s assessment of compulsory corona vaccination could “also take place at very short notice,” said Gaß. (04.10.2021)
Other federal states are loosening the mask requirement in schools
Saarland has already changed course, Bavaria and Berlin are following suit: there, too, pupils no longer have to wear a mask in class. In Berlin, the obligation to wear masks in class up to the sixth grade has been lifted from now on; in Bavaria, masks generally no longer have to be worn in class.
There have been bitter arguments about the lifting of the obligation for days. Some medical representatives had described a general continuation of the measure in schools as inappropriate. Others, such as virologists, consider the change of course premature because the distance rules do not apply in the classrooms, there are many unvaccinated people due to age and the number of infections is high, especially among young people. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), this is particularly true for children from preschool age and adolescents.
Now is the right time to lift the mask requirement, said the Berlin pediatrician Jakob Maske, on Deutschlandfunk – he is spokesman for the professional association of paediatricians. Children and young people have suffered enough, cut back and show consideration for older age groups. “Now it is finally time to do normal lessons again, to be able to breathe normally through your mouth and nose without being restricted by the mask.” Of course, this would make viruses spread faster again, said Maske. “But we are not very concerned because children very, very, very rarely get really seriously ill.” However, they should continue to be protected by vaccinating school staff and teachers.
Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek (CDU) expressed understanding for the end of the mask requirement in schools, which has been in place in Saarland since Friday and is being considered in Baden-Württemberg and Saxony. “Wearing masks interferes with normal lessons and is stressful for the students,” she said Rheinische Post. “However, if the mask requirement is relaxed, tests must continue or even more in schools,” she demanded, especially with a view to the time after the autumn break. Because then, based on past experience, it could well be that the number of infections will rise again. (04.10.2021)
RKI: Incidence increased slightly
The Robert Koch Institute reports 3,088 new positive tests. That is 66 more than on Monday a week ago, when 3022 new infections were reported. The seven-day incidence increases to 64.7 from 64.2 the previous day. This value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have been infected with the coronavirus in the past seven days. Seven other people died as a result of the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths to 93,793 within 24 hours. (04.10.2021)
Most days in lockdown: Melbourne on top
Sad record: The city of Melbourne has spent a total of 246 days in lockdown mode since the beginning of the corona pandemic, as reported by the Australian broadcaster ABC. The city on the southeast coast of Australia will replace the previous record holder Buenos Aires. The state of Victoria has been in a strict lockdown for the sixth time in almost two months, which is expected to last for several weeks. After all, since last week the residents have been allowed to move 15 instead of the previous ten kilometers from their place of residence, and several non-contact outdoor sports are again allowed.
Australia had long pursued a zero Covid strategy – with the spread of the aggressive Delta variant, the country is now primarily focusing on achieving the highest possible vaccination rate. (04.10.2021)
From February onwards, Air New Zealand will only allow vaccinated people on board on long-haul flights
The New Zealand airline Air New Zealand will only carry fully vaccinated passengers on its international routes from February 1, 2022. “This is the new reality of international travel. Many countries do not allow unvaccinated people to enter anyway,” writes Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran in a statement. New Zealand wants to reopen its borders, which it closed in March 2020, at the beginning of next year.
Other US airlines have obliged their employees to be vaccinated against the corona virus. American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Jet Blue determined this at the weekend. One reason for this decision is government pressure: US President Joe Biden decreed that from December 8th, only companies with vaccinated employees can get government contracts. Several airlines believe they fall under this rule. United Airlines had previously prescribed corona vaccinations for all employees.
In Germany, however, Lufthansa board member Detlef Kayser has Picture on sunday again pleaded for compulsory vaccination for its own flight crew. “As an airline that operates worldwide, we advocate mandatory vaccination for our crews and also need a way to record vaccination data,” said Kayser. In Germany there is no legal obligation to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, which is why the employer cannot force its employees to do so. (03.10.2021)