According to the managing minister of health, Germany has enough corona vaccination doses for booster vaccinations. “All in all, from today’s perspective, we will have enough vaccine to do that by the end of the year,” said the CDU politician at the SZ economic summit. “We have even pushed part of our Covax donations, i.e. international donations with Biontech, from December to January and February in order to have enough vaccine for these things in Germany.”
In addition, Spahn considers a 2-G plus rule to be a way of containing the corona pandemic. There are models that access only for vaccinated and convalescent people with an additional test can lower the so-called R value by 0.5, says Spahn at the SZ economic summit. The R value indicates how many people an infected person infects on average. If it is above one, as is currently the case, the number of corona cases will continue to rise.
The Minister of Health criticized the fact that the 3G measures decided in the summer were not being monitored with enough determination. He praised the fact that the traffic light parties had improved the catalog of measures in the Infection Protection Act after criticism. “Measures that will only take effect in three or four weeks are not helping us at the moment,” warns the CDU politician. (11/17/2021)
Austria tightened corona rules for entry
From Monday onwards, a negative rapid test is no longer sufficient to enter Austria. Unvaccinated travelers then have to show a PCR test at the Austrian border. Exceptions apply to vaccinated cross-border commuters, as can be seen from the Covid-19 Entry Ordinance. Unvaccinated commuters have to show a negative PCR test result, which should only apply for 72 hours (previously one week). Rapid tests are only valid for 24 hours instead of 48 hours for commuters.
Meanwhile, the number of new corona infections in Austria reached a record level on Wednesday. According to the authorities, 14,416 new infections were recorded within 24 hours. Taking into account the number of residents, that is roughly two and a half times the German value. The seven-day incidence rose to 953 cases per 100,000 population. The strongest increase was again in the federal state of Upper Austria, which has a particularly low vaccination rate.
Since Sunday, the German federal government has classified almost all of Austria as a corona risk area again. Anyone who returns to Germany from a high-risk area and is not fully vaccinated or recovered has to be in quarantine for ten days and can only get rid of it with a negative test after five days at the earliest. (11/17/2021)
RKI reports two new highs with 52,826 new infections and an incidence of 319.5
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 52,826 new positive tests, a new highest daily value in the pandemic. That is 13 150 cases more than on Wednesday a week ago, when 39 676 new infections were reported. The seven-day incidence rises again to a record 319.5 from 312.4 the previous day. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 population have contracted the coronavirus in the past seven days. 294 other people died related to the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths within 24 hours to 98,274. In total, more than 5.1 million corona tests have so far been positive in Germany. (11/17/2021)
Stiko wants to recommend booster vaccinations for everyone over the age of 18
Stiko boss Thomas Mertens announces that the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) wants to recommend the booster vaccination for everyone over the age of 18 as soon as possible. This is what Mertens said on the ZDF program “Markus Lanz”.
So far, the Stiko recommends a booster vaccination only for older people over 70 years of age, residents of care facilities and medical and nursing staff. However, it is not the recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission that is legally binding, but the Vaccination ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Health. It says: Anyone who is entitled to a basic vaccination can also receive a booster vaccination.
The Stiko recommends a booster vaccination usually six months after the last vaccination with an mRNA vaccine. For people who have been vaccinated with the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, the Stiko recommends a booster vaccination with an mRNA vaccine starting four weeks after the primary series.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) now recommends that doctors in Germany give all adults a Covid booster vaccination before the six-month period has expired. “The interval of six months for complete immunization for people over 18 years of age, as stipulated in the approval, is to be understood as a guideline which, of course, does not have to be adhered to to the exact day,” says a letter from the managing minister and the chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Gassen. to all contract doctors in Germany, the one from Berlin Daily mirror (Wednesday) is available.
“You can therefore every patient from the age of 18, even if they do not belong to the risk groups according to the current Stiko recommendation such as older people, residents of care facilities and medical and nursing staff, promptly and before the end of the six months vaccinate at their own discretion, “emphasize Spahn and Gassen. (11/17/2021)
Debate about compulsory vaccination continues
After initial skepticism, the federal government’s representative for care, Andreas Westerfellhaus, now speaks out in favor of a possible vaccination requirement for employees in the health sector. He called for the corresponding vaccination numbers to be recorded centrally. “I know statements from facilities in which almost 90 percent are vaccinated. And there are still many vaccinated at the moment,” said Westerfellhaus of the Düsseldorf-based company Rheinische Post.
However, he agrees with the recommendation of the German Ethics Council and welcomes the fact that the government parliamentary groups are now openly discussing the issue: “Every vaccination counts and if we are thinking about mandatory vaccination for health workers, it must apply from doctors to cooks”, said Westerfellhaus. “We have been convinced for a long time. Unfortunately, despite all the appeals and sufficient vaccine, the current vaccination rates are still insufficient,” said the doctor. “Again, hundreds of people who have become infected with corona die every day. We have to weigh very carefully whether the individual’s interest in a free decision about a vaccination can continue to have priority.”
Previously, the Leopoldina Science Academy, general practitioners and the German Ethics Council had called for mandatory vaccination for individual professional groups.
The executive patient representative of the federal government, Claudia Schmidtke (CDU), speaks out in favor of a job-related vaccination requirement. Of the Stuttgart newspaper she said she wished that such a duty would not be necessary. Education, incentives and low-threshold vaccination offers would not have been enough for everyone in the care and health facilities to meet their responsibility towards those in need of protection, said Schmidtke.
In contrast, said the President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, the Rheinische Post: “Instead of compulsory vaccination for nursing staff, we need a real signal of recognition, for example with gross-as-net salaries until the end of the pandemic.” Most employees in the health sector are vaccinated anyway. “The debate only gives the impression of suspicion on the part of politicians,” said the head of the association. (11/17/2021)
Ifo boss Fuest: fourth wave endangers the economy
According to the economic research institute Ifo, the increasing number of corona infections is jeopardizing the economic recovery in Germany. “The spread of the infections ensures that economic activity in the sectors of social consumption – gastronomy, travel, culture and events – declines because people avoid the risk of infection,” said Ifo boss Clemens Fuest Passauer Neue Presse. The already fragile recovery will be jeopardized.
Fuest said that to a large extent it was not lockdown measures that caused economic costs, but the pandemic itself. “When there is a high risk of infection, most people do not go to restaurants or to events, regardless of whether they are closed by government regulations or not. ” The difference to last winter is that many people are now vaccinated, even if the vaccinations do not provide perfect protection.
With a view to the Prime Minister’s Conference on Thursday, Fuest spoke out in favor of containing the infections and, through regulations for vaccinated and convalescent people (2 G), to ensure that economic activities are no longer impaired than is inevitable. Measures are also needed to reduce the risk of infection in schools.
In addition, the economist urged politicians to make courageous decisions. “If you want to successfully overcome the pandemic, you won’t be able to please everyone.” Those who do not get vaccinated without good health reasons are also putting others at risk. “Politicians have to increase the pressure here, even if there is a dispute.”