According to a media report, the SPD, Greens and FDP have agreed to adopt an interim solution for corona requirements by the end of March 2022. This is reported by the editorial network in Germany. The traffic light parties had previously indicated that the so-called epidemic situation of national scope should not be extended beyond November 25th. Instead, paragraph 28a of the Infection Protection Act is to be changed, which describes possible interventions by the federal states and municipalities in a pandemic emergency. This also includes a mask requirement as well as hygiene and distance rules. (10/26/2021)
Germany’s incidence rises again – to 113
The coronavirus is spreading again quickly in Germany, the seven-day incidence has risen again. On Tuesday lunchtime, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a value of 113.0 new infections within the past 24 hours, converted to 100,000 inhabitants. On Monday, the nationwide incidence value was 110.1. According to the RKI, another 128 people died within one day as a result of a corona infection.
The differences between the federal states are enormous: The highest incidence values are currently found in Thuringia (235.7), Saxony (191.7) and Bavaria (186.7). At the end of the table are the federal states of Saarland (53.2), Schleswig-Holstein (58.0), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (62.2) and Lower Saxony (62.5, where the number of infections – converted to the size of the population – only around a quarter of the numbers in Saxony or Thuringia. (10/26/21)
EU authority allows booster vaccination with Moderna
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has enabled a booster vaccination with the corona vaccine from the manufacturer Moderna. A booster vaccination with Spikevax could be given to people over the age of 18 six to eight months after the second dose, the agency said. In adults, in whom the protection had decreased, the values of the antibodies had increased, according to the experts due to the booster.
The EMA experts had checked data from studies carried out by the manufacturer. According to the recommendation of the EMA, a booster vaccination or a booster contains only half of a normal vaccination dose. The risk of possible side effects is the same as with the second dose of the Moderna preparation. A decision about a booster vaccination will be made by the national authorities, as the EMA emphasized. The experts had previously enabled the booster vaccination with the preparation from the manufacturers Pfizer and Biontech. (10/26/2021)
US government announces new entry rules
The White House has published the details of the new entry rules, which have now been somewhat relaxed in view of the advanced corona vaccinations. It was already clear beforehand: From November 8th, foreigners can re-enter the USA if they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with internationally recognized preparations. Vaccines that have received approval or emergency approval from the US FDA or the World Health Organization (WHO) would be accepted, the White House announced. This currently applies to the preparations from Biontech / Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Sinovac.
Travelers would have to prove their vaccination status to the respective airline before boarding a plane to the United States, it said. A complete vaccination against the coronavirus is a prerequisite. People are considered fully vaccinated at least two weeks after receiving their last required injection. The White House emphasized that a combination of two different vaccines would also be accepted here – provided the preparations were approved by the FDA or the WHO.
There are only a few exceptions to the vaccination requirement for international travelers, for example for children or people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons. US citizens are exempt from the vaccination requirements for entry anyway. According to the US government, travelers must generally present a negative corona test no longer than three days old in addition to their vaccination certificate. For unvaccinated persons who fall under the permitted exemptions, the test must not be older than one day. The airlines would also have to keep the contact information of passengers in order to be able to notify them of possible corona cases, it said.
The easing comes after more than a year and a half of widespread entry bans for people from numerous countries, including residents of the EU and the UK. The then US President Donald Trump ordered it in March 2020, at the beginning of the corona pandemic. Entry from the Schengen area, Great Britain and Ireland was prohibited with a few exceptions – and also for foreigners from India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Iran.
The EU, on the other hand, had already asked its member states in June to gradually lift restrictions on travelers from the USA and several other countries. Germany then again allowed entries from the USA, among others, also for holidaymakers. This means that Americans could re-enter Germany from June 20 if they could prove a vaccination, a survived Covid disease or a negative Covid test. Germany and other EU states had also hoped for an easing in return from Washington, but had to wait a long time. This caused some frustration among Europeans. The extensive entry ban has not only separated families and friends so far. It also plagued business and tourism. (10/26/2021)
China is sending the metropolis of Lanzhou into lockdown
In response to a new outbreak of the corona virus, China has imposed a strict curfew in the four-million metropolis of Lanzhou. Residents of the city in Gansu province were asked on Tuesday not to leave their apartment blocks unless there was an emergency or to buy groceries. Inputs and outputs should be monitored. China reported a total of 29 new local corona infections on Tuesday, six of them in Gansu province.
The Chinese government pursues a strict “zero covid strategy”. With curfews, mass tests, contact tracing, quarantine and strict entry restrictions, the country has the coronavirus largely under control. However, there are always smaller outbreaks, which then have to be brought under control with great effort. (10/26/2021)
Intensive care physicians expect more Covid-19 patients
Intensive care physicians expect an increase in the number of corona patients in hospitals in the coming weeks. Depending on the season and with a view to increasing incidences, he reckons “with an increase in Covid patients in intensive care units,” said the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “We are at the beginning of the autumn-winter season. The virus can spread much better in closed rooms again.” (10/26/2021)
Lauterbach strongly recommends booster vaccination
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach calls for significantly more booster vaccinations for risk groups. “In view of the increasing number of cases, including among older people, a new vaccination campaign to use the booster vaccinations in this age group is now absolutely necessary,” Lauterbach told the newspapers of the Funke media group. The reason for this is the rising seven-day incidence in Germany. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), it was three-digit again at the weekend for the first time in almost six months and rose to 110.1 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants at the beginning of the week.
The President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, said that he said that “booster vaccinations play a very important role in combating the pandemic”. This applies to both patients and hospital staff.
Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, complained about the “sluggish course” of the third-party vaccinations. “The statutory health insurance associations are responsible for ensuring that after a good three months just twelve percent of those over 70 years of age have received a third vaccination offer,” said Brysch of the NOZ. “Now it is taking its toll that the vaccination centers and mobile teams have largely been abolished, precisely because of pressure from the health insurance physicians.” (10/26/2021)
Germany donated 17.6 million Astra Zeneca cans
According to a media report, Germany has so far made 7.6 million corona vaccination doses from the manufacturer Astra Zeneca available to other countries bilaterally. In addition, there are another ten million doses that the federal government has handed over to the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the “Covax” vaccine initiative, reports the editorial network Germany (RND). “This means that there are no longer any stocks of Astra Zeneca in stock on the part of the federal government,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health for the RND. Vietnam received most of the doses directly (2.6 million), followed by Ukraine (1.5), Egypt, Ghana (both 1.5) and Namibia (0.2). The federal government had promised to make 100 million vaccine doses from various manufacturers available to other countries free of charge. Most of the distribution is to take place via “Covax”. (10/26/2021)
Stiko boss rejects Kimmich’s criticism
The chairman of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), Thomas Mertens, has rejected the concerns of national soccer player Joshua Kimmich because of the lack of long-term studies on vaccines. Bayern professional Kimmich admitted on Saturday that he had not yet been vaccinated against Corona. He had “a few personal concerns, especially about the lack of long-term studies”.
When a vaccine is released for use in humans, there are accompanying studies that examine exactly whether serious side effects can occur when using it, Mertens said in an interview with the German Press Agency. “You have to consider that seven billion doses of people have now been vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine,” he said. “It is clear that there can be no ten-year observational studies when a vaccine is used for almost a year.” This does not only apply to every other vaccine that is used for the first time, but also to every new drug.
“In addition to the approval studies, we know from the accompanying studies that there were only a few side effects, all of which occurred quite a short time after the vaccination,” said the Stiko boss. There is a consensus in science that side effects occurring late after a vaccination “do not occur or were an extremely rare rarity with individual vaccines”.
The federal government is still hoping for a decision by national soccer player Joshua Kimmich for a corona vaccination and has referred to comprehensive information. All questions are of course justified, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert. However, there are “clear and convincing answers” from national and international experts on aspects such as the type and effect of the vaccines or possible consequences of the vaccine.
He therefore hopes “that Joshua Kimmich lets all this information work on him again and then maybe can decide in favor of the vaccination,” said Seibert. “Because as someone that millions look at, he would then be a role model.” (25.10.2021)