Status: 10/30/2021 9:39 a.m.
The corona infections continue to rise. According to the RKI, the seven-day incidence is now 145.1. Medical President Reinhardt considers lockdown measures for unvaccinated people to be possible. There is criticism of Health Minister Spahn.
The nationwide seven-day incidence of new corona infections has again increased significantly. As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced in the morning, citing data from the health authorities, the value increased to 145.1. The day before it was 139.2, a week ago it was 100. The value indicates the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days.
According to the latest information from the RKI, 21,543 new coronavirus infections and 90 new deaths related to the virus were recorded within 24 hours. The total number of registered cases of infection in Germany since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 4,580,663, the number of deaths recorded to 95,696.
The seven-day incidence has been rising continuously for two weeks. On Friday a week ago, the value had passed the 100 mark for the first time since May.
The number of corona patients admitted to clinics per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days was given by the RKI on Friday as 3.50 (Thursday: 3.31, Wednesday: 3.07). The value is not published on Saturday and Sunday. With the indicator it must be taken into account that hospital admissions are sometimes reported with delay.
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.
Relaxation instead of protection
In view of this situation, there are increasing reminders to keep the infection process under control. The teachers’ association and the ethics council warn against endangering the health of many students. The head of the teachers’ association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger in the “Rheinische Post” criticized the policy, with a view to the lifting of the mask requirement in the classroom in some federal states.
The Vice-Chairperson of the Ethics Council, Susanne Schreiber, told the newspaper: “Even if severe courses are less common in children, hundreds of children will be affected by complications if there are severe infections.” And: “An eye-to-and-through mentality is not enough here.”
Although two thirds of the population are now fully vaccinated, the risk of a severe course remains high for those who have not been vaccinated. According to the RKI, in order to be able to contain the pandemic at all, a vaccination rate of 85 to 90 percent would be necessary for those over the age of twelve – supplemented by booster vaccinations to counter the diminishing effect.
Streeck: The course of the pandemic is decided in old people’s homes
The virologist Hendrik Streeck thinks that the course of the pandemic will be decided in the old people’s and nursing homes. “Despite the vaccination there is still the deadly hotspot of the pandemic. That means above all: to offer a booster vaccination widely and to test it consistently and regularly in old people’s and nursing homes,” he told “Welt am Sonntag”.
Most recently it had one Corona outbreak in a senior citizens’ residence in Brandenburg given, in which eight residents died. A total of 42 residents and 15 employees in the facility were sick with Covid-19, confirmed the responsible health department. Only about 50 percent of the workers in the home had been vaccinated.
Discuss lockdown measures only for unvaccinated people
Medical president Klaus Reinhardt also promotes targeted booster vaccinations and warns of greater stress on the clinics. “The situation is still manageable,” said the head of the German Medical Association of the dpa news agency. But you definitely don’t want to experience again that nurses from other areas help out on corona wards and, for example, predictable operations have to be canceled. “After 18 months of the pandemic, the staff burned out, many nurses have left the service, which is why the clinics can no longer occupy all beds,” he emphasized in “Spiegel”.
Reinhardt, however, also complained about the low vaccination rate in Germany: “It cannot be that there are more than ten million adults who are still not vaccinated.” For the unvaccinated, he therefore called for stricter measures in the “Spiegel”: “If the number of cases continues to increase, we may have to hold a social discussion as to whether lockdown measures only apply to unvaccinated people. I would find that justified if it were to secure inpatient care .
It is currently mainly the unvaccinated who have to be treated with severe Covid courses in the clinics. Children or other people who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons should “of course be exempted from stricter requirements,” says Reinhardt.
Criticism of Spahn after booster vaccination statement
Reinhardt strongly criticized Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn for his statement that there was enough vaccine available so that everyone who wanted could get a booster vaccination.
“So far there is no sufficient scientific evidence for the need for booster vaccinations for people of all ages,” he told the editorial network Germany RND. In older people, on the other hand, the booster vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of infection, as the immune response is often weaker in old age and vaccination breakthroughs can therefore occur. That is why the Standing Vaccination Commission also recommends a Covid-19 booster vaccination for all people over the age of 70, those with previous illnesses and people from certain professions.
He urgently advises citizens from these groups to take advantage of offers for third-party vaccinations. Reinhardt emphasized: “In addition to vaccinations in medical practices, we need as many low-threshold vaccination options as possible at work, in nursing homes and in care for the elderly.”
The board member of the General Practitioner Association, Armin Beck, agreed with this criticism: “We are annoyed that Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn is stoking expectations that booster vaccinations are possible for everyone.” As a result of Spahn’s statements, the need for clarification and discussion in the practices is now greater, said Beck. If the Standing Vaccination Commission expanded its recommendation, the general practitioners would also vaccinate these groups of people, he announced. However, some medical practices have already withdrawn from vaccinations and no longer offer them.