Corona pandemic
Call for more speed with booster vaccinations
In view of the further increase in the number of infections, booster vaccinations as corona protection in autumn and winter are increasingly becoming the focus – especially for people with higher risks. Photo: Paul Sancya / AP / dpa
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The corona situation becomes more critical again in the cold season. In order to prevent worse things from happening in particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly, experts are calling for booster vaccinations to be speeded up.
In view of the further increase in the number of infections, booster vaccinations as corona protection in autumn and winter are increasingly becoming the focus – especially for people with higher risks.
The third injection, which is usually necessary for this, has now been given to 1.61 million people, according to the registration data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Tuesday. Doctors, patient advocates and politicians have called for more speed to be used with such vaccination boosters, which can usually be given six months after the second injection. According to the RKI, a total of 55.1 million people or 66.3 percent of the population have now received a full vaccination.
“Booster vaccinations for the vulnerable groups are urgently needed, especially in view of the increasing numbers,” said Dirk Heinrich, chairman of the Virchow Association of resident doctors, of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Tuesday). “Unfortunately, this is not uniformly regulated nationwide, so that there are delays in some places.”
Vaccination centers and mobile teams are now missing again
The German Foundation for Patient Protection complained about a “sluggish course”. After a good three months, only twelve percent of the over 70-year-olds received a third vaccination offer, said board member Eugen Brysch of the newspaper. “Now it is taking its toll that the vaccination centers and mobile teams have largely been abolished under pressure from the health insurance officers.”
The Standing Vaccination Commission recommends booster vaccinations for people aged 70 and over and people with a weakened immune system. They are also recommended for nurses and medical staff who have direct contact with patients and people who have received the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach told the newspapers of the Funke media group (Tuesday): “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.” Left leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow said: “Third-party vaccinations must now be launched as quickly as possible, the current corona numbers are terrifying.” Third-party vaccinations should be advertised as well as first and second vaccinations.
Booster vaccination is important for fighting pandemics
The President of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi), Gernot Marx, told the Funke newspapers that he measured “the booster vaccination is a very important part in combating the pandemic”. This applies to both patients and hospital staff.
Lauterbach expects that a third vaccination dose as a booster will be offered to everyone in the medium term without restrictions. “That’s what it will probably come down to,” he said on Tuesday on TV station Phoenix. Infections could not be prevented permanently with two vaccinations. There are also people who want to avoid a more easily developed infection. At the moment, however, there is not enough vaccine in many poorer countries – so that the richer populations should not generally vaccinate their populations three times for the time being.
In Germany, the increase in new corona cases, which has lasted for almost two weeks, continues. Nationwide, the number of new infections reported per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days, according to the RKI, is now 113.0 – after 110.1 the day before and 75.1 a week ago. The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days was given by the RKI on Tuesday at 2.95 (Monday: 2.77). There is no nationwide value from when the situation can be viewed critically. The previous high was around 15.5.