pandemic
Expiry of the vaccinated status after nine months: Söder calls for this measure to be examined
Markus Söder asked the Standing Vaccination Commission to develop an opinion on the subject of vaccinated status
© Sven Hoppe / DPA
The corona wave continues to swell. To counteract this, Markus Söder brings a decline in the vaccinated status into play in order to ensure that the corona vaccinations are refreshed in the population as quickly as possible.
In the fight against the corona pandemic, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) advocates that the vaccine status expires after nine months due to the diminishing effectiveness of the vaccines.
“One should consider whether after nine months a vaccinated status can no longer apply almost automatically,” said Söder. It must be checked whether the 2G status can then still be obtained. He asked the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) to develop an opinion. This practice is followed in neighboring countries such as Austria.
Markus Söder: Return to free citizen tests
In view of the force of the fourth wave, more and more politicians and doctors are calling for free corona tests to be offered to everyone again. The end of the reimbursement of costs for citizen tests did not motivate those unwilling to vaccinate, said the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, in the newspapers of the Funke media group. The federal and state governments should correct this “wrong decision” quickly – “if possible with the amendment of the Infection Protection Act in mid-November”.
Markus Söder, Greens boss Robert Habeck and representatives of doctors, municipalities and retailers had previously called for the return to free tests. NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst demands free corona tests for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. “The high numbers of infections among unvaccinated people lead to more and more breakthroughs among those who have been vaccinated,” said the CDU politician of “Bild am Sonntag”.
Since October 11th, corona rapid tests have only been free in exceptional cases. The federal government has stopped funding. This was justified by the fact that everyone now has the opportunity to protect themselves through a vaccination. Many test stations were closed as a result. Eugen Brysch, board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, said: “Abolishing the free tests was one of the stupidest decisions.”