Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet considers the coalition compromise on vaccination information in companies to be insufficient. “For reasons of operational safety, employers should be allowed to inquire about vaccinations in the workforce – provided, of course, that this information remains confidential,” the CDU chairman told the newspapers Funke media group. “Unfortunately, this could not be done for all companies in conjunction with the SPD.”
After hours of consultation, the Union and the SPD agreed on a line late on Thursday evening: According to this, employers should be able to request information from employees in daycare centers, schools and nursing homes in the future about a corona vaccination or a recovered Covid disease. “In view of the current pandemic situation, this is absolutely necessary from the point of view of infection protection,” said Laschet.
The corresponding change in the law is to be decided in the Bundestag on Tuesday. Trade unions reject the planned right to information as too far. Employers are calling for it to be extended to the entire economy. Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) continues to insist on a more comprehensive solution. (04.09.2021)
Spahn defends booster vaccinations
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn defended the booster vaccinations for seniors and immunocompromised people before a recommendation by the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko). “I don’t want to wait until people die again in the nursing homes,” said the CDU politician to the editorial network Germany (RND, Saturday). “The fact that we have now started the booster vaccinations is a forward-looking, precautionary action. This is how we protect human lives.” Several federal states have started offering people in need of care, those over 80 years of age and people with immunodeficiency the third vaccination if the last one was at least six months ago, because after this period the effect can significantly decrease. According to its boss Thomas Mertens, Stiko is planning a recommendation as soon as possible.
Spahn referred to studies “which clearly show that booster vaccinations make sense for very old people, those in need of care and people with certain immune diseases”. He emphasized: “We have enough vaccine to provide more protection with booster vaccinations.”
Spahn described the vaccination quota as still too low to prevent overloading the health system. “We are currently seeing a pandemic for the unvaccinated.” The number of infections among the unvaccinated are more than ten times higher than among the vaccinated, and 90 percent of Covid 19 patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated. (04.09.2021)
Incidence rises to 80.7
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reports 10 835 new positive tests. That is 532 more than on Saturday a week ago, when 10,303 new infections were reported. The seven-day incidence increases to 80.7 from 80.2 the previous day. The value indicates how many people per 100,000 inhabitants have contracted the coronavirus in the past seven days. 33 other people died related to the virus. This increases the number of reported deaths within 24 hours to 92,325. In total, more than 3.9 million corona tests have so far been positive in Germany. (04.09.2021)
Spahn excludes mandatory vaccination for nurses
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn further rules out compulsory vaccinations for doctors and nurses. “We promised that there would be no compulsory vaccination for whoever,” said the CDU politician to the editorial network Germany (RND). Getting vaccinated remains a free decision. “But if you do not want to be vaccinated as a nurse, for example, you cannot expect to be able to work in close contact with seriously ill people.” The background to this is the agreement of the grand coalition that employers may query the vaccination status of their employees in particularly sensitive areas such as nursing homes, daycare centers and schools. (04.09.2021)
EU Commission and Astra Zeneca settle legal dispute over vaccine deliveries
The EU Commission and the British pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca have settled their ongoing legal dispute over the delivery of corona vaccination doses, as the commission announced. This guarantees the delivery of 200 million outstanding cans by March 2022. Accordingly, the British pharmaceutical company undertakes to deliver 60 million vaccine doses by the end of the third quarter, 75 million doses by the end of the fourth and 65 million more doses by the end of the first quarter of 2022. In April, the Commission initiated legal action against Astra Zeneca because the group did not keep the contracts with the deliveries. (03.09.2021)
Incidence value exceeds 80
The seven-day incidence of new corona infections has risen again. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Friday morning, it was 80.2 – the previous day the value was 76.9, a week ago it was 70.3. The health authorities in Germany reported 14 251 new corona infections to the RKI within one day. This is evident from the numbers that reflect the status of the RKI dashboard at 4:10 a.m. A week ago the value was 12 029 infections.
According to the new information, 45 deaths were recorded across Germany within 24 hours. A week ago there were 14 deaths. The RKI has counted 3,984,353 detected infections with Sars-CoV-2 since the beginning of the pandemic. The actual total number is likely to be significantly higher, as many infections are not detected.
The incidence of new infections has so far been the basis for many corona restrictions in the pandemic, for example as part of the federal emergency brake that expired at the end of June. In the future, other values such as the number of hospital admissions will also be given greater consideration.
The seven-day hospitalization incidence indicates how many admissions of Covid 19 patients in inpatient treatment per 100,000 inhabitants were reported in seven days. On Thursday, the RKI gave the value in the management report as 1.74 (previous day 1.81). A nationwide threshold value from when the situation can be viewed critically is not provided for the incidence of hospitalization, among other things because of large regional differences.
The previous high was around 15.5 around Christmas time. The hospitalization rate is calculated according to RKI information on the basis of the reporting date to the local health department. According to this, an average of about ten days elapse between an infection and hospitalization, so the hospitalization incidence reflects the infection situation with a noticeable delay. (03.09.21)
Draghi has compulsory vaccinations checked for all Italians
Italy could introduce compulsory vaccination for everyone, according to Prime Minister Mario Draghi. This will be examined when the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted regular approval for the current vaccines. So far, the EMA has only granted conditional approval for the funds from Biontech, for example.
The country sees itself on the right way with the vaccinations, as Draghi emphasized. On Thursday, more than 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated over the age of twelve was vaccinated. For the end of September, the government expects a value of 80 percent, as Draghi said. Health Minister Roberto Speranza praised the younger population in particular, who are diligently vaccinated.
In addition, Prime Minister Draghi announced that the so-called Green Pass will be expanded. Currently, only people are allowed on domestic flights, long-distance buses or trains, museums and indoor areas of restaurants who have the “Green Pass” as proof of vaccination, corona recovery or a negative test; Italy recognizes the Corona passport valid in the EU. Children under the age of twelve are exempt. Draghi said it was certain that the “Green Pass” would be applied to other areas in the future. At first it remained unclear what these would be; Authorities or areas of the private economy are conceivable. (02.09.2021)