Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wants to better protect residents of care facilities from corona infection. During the expected wave of pandemics in autumn and winter, you have to try “to be better prepared than last year,” said Lauterbach on Thursday in Berlin. An important building block should be the fourth vaccination for the residents. In addition, hygiene concepts and, in the event of illness, the early administration of the Covid drug Paxlovid should bring more safety. “If we get that implemented, we can use it to dramatically reduce mortality in the facilities.”
At a press conference, Lauterbach presented a “joint statement” with representatives of the care industry and the welfare and municipal associations. In discussions, a common understanding was developed of how the risk of infections could be countered without overloading the nursing staff or socially isolating the residents of nursing facilities. In the first two Corona winters, there were mass infections and high death rates in many nursing homes, and visits from relatives were sometimes not possible. That shouldn’t happen this winter.
It is often underestimated how big the effect of the fourth vaccination is, said Lauterbach. According to the Federal Minister of Health, those in need of care who are immunized again would have a 90 percent lower risk of death than those who had been vaccinated three times. That is why everything is being done to close vaccination gaps. In addition, masks and hygiene concepts are other efficient protective instruments.
The points that Lauterbach agreed with the industry representatives are actually not new, but are essentially the same as those already provided for in the Infection Protection Act, which came into force at the beginning of the month. However, the requirements for the mask requirement in particular were met with criticism. Because the new rules stipulate that nursing home residents must always wear FFP2 masks, except “in the premises intended for their permanent stay” – i.e. in their own room. In common rooms, on the other hand, a mask should always be worn. Senior organizations had criticized this as a “significant cut” in the quality of life.
The deputy head of the central association of statutory health insurance companies, Gernot Kiefer, said that in view of the experiences with previous corona waves, the mask requirement “despite the fact that it is all more than annoying” makes sense. Isabell Halletz, Managing Director of the Nursing Employers’ Association, also supported the regulation. You can never enforce this 100 percent, but you need clear guidelines. Lauterbach said he was confident facilities would find ways to create community, such as in rooms with smaller groups of fully vaccinated people.