Status: 08/10/2022 5:18 p.m
According to a court ruling, the roommate of a person infected with monkeypox must remain in quarantine for three weeks – despite a quick vaccination. Meanwhile, according to the German Aidshilfe, the vaccine is running out.
Despite the vaccination that has now taken place, a man from North Rhine-Westphalia has to stay in quarantine for 21 days because his roommate was infected with monkeypox and he stayed in the shared apartment during the infectious phase.
The public interest in protecting the life and health of the population justifies this temporary restriction, the Düsseldorf Administrative Court decided in an urgent procedure.
Reference to findings of the RKI
The court justified the decision with the findings of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). This assumes a high risk of transmission for roommates of people infected with monkeypox if they spend at least one night in the apartment during the infectious period.
The court said that the applicant had himself vaccinated immediately after the findings of his roommate. But there is still no public data on the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex against monkeypox. The man can still appeal against the decision at the Higher Administrative Court in Münster.
German Aidshilfe: Vaccine is running out
For the first time, more than 3,000 cases of monkeypox were reported in Germany. As the RKI reported, the total of 3025 cases are mostly men. Eight women, two male adolescents and a four-year-old girl are also affected.
At the same time, according to the German Aidshilfe (DAH), the vaccine is also becoming scarce in Germany. “We are hearing from more and more practices and outpatient clinics that the vaccine will soon run out or that they already have nothing left – and if that is not the case, then it will be soon,” said DAH spokesman Holger Wicht of the dpa news agency. The vaccine has so far been far too tight, but the interest is very high.
According to the Ministry of Health, the federal government has so far ordered 240,000 vaccine doses, of which 40,000 were initially delivered.