In Kassel, too, many people currently have a cold or are suffering from flu or corona. During a vaccination campaign at the Stern Pharmacy, many people had the spades against Corona administered.
Kassel – Whether cold, flu or corona: various respiratory diseases are currently rampant in the city of Kassel. This was confirmed by the health authority for the Kassel region and various general practitioners when asked by HNA. A total of 563 cases of respiratory illnesses have been reported to the health department in the past two calendar weeks. 520 of these cases are corona, 26 cases are the RS virus and 17 are influenza.
The health department speaks of a “significant increase in Covid-19 diseases”. However, the numbers do not realistically reflect the extent of the infection since there is no longer a requirement to test. In addition, Corona is not reportable. “High fever clinical pictures with a pronounced general feeling of illness are increasingly being reported,” says the health department.
Striking: With 367 of the total 520 corona cases, the Sars virus was reported with “a significantly increasing number from those aged 50 and over”. In the past two weeks, three people have died from or with Covid. While Corona is increasingly affecting older people, the RS virus was found in 23 of the 26 cases in children under the age of ten.
In the current wave of illness in Kassel: the health department recommends vaccination
The health department recommends that people aged 60 and over “get vaccinated against pneumococci, flu and Covid-19 to protect against colds”.
General practitioners have been experiencing a rush to their practices for weeks, and the phones are hardly idle. “We have been in full epidemic season since mid-November,” says Dr. Michael Donges, who runs a practice in Harleshausen with colleagues. He speaks of a “high number” of corona infections.
The Kassel Clinic is also recording “increased Sars-CoV-2 activity, with younger children also being admitted because of RSV,” as Sabine Nixdorf, press spokeswoman for Health North Hesse, said in response to an HNA request. All patients with cold symptoms on admission would be tested for Covid. “Corona is sometimes diagnosed as a secondary diagnosis,” says Nixdorf.
The clinic asks relatives with cold symptoms to refrain from visiting. However, there are currently no plans to introduce special visiting rules.
Corona peak values in wastewater
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) publishes a weekly report on the level of coronaviruses in wastewater. Samples from 129 sewage treatment plants throughout Germany are evaluated for the analysis. Karsten Köhler, spokesman for Kasselwasser, confirms that data from Kassel will soon also be available there. Corona peak values can currently be seen at many locations – including Göttingen – since the measurements began. zu.hna.de/abwasser1512
Large crowds at the vaccination campaign in Stern-Aktion in Kassel
Friday afternoon in the Stern-Apotheke at the main train station: dozens of people gather in the sales room. They all came to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“It has never been as full as it is today,” says owner Joachim Schulz. Since the beginning of October, Schulz has been offering a vaccination day almost weekly in his pharmacy. Since then, around 600 people have been vaccinated with the new Biontech vaccine by his team, consisting of three alternating vaccinators. “We vaccinate around 80 people per appointment,” says Schulz.
The practice is currently overcrowded, especially Monday mornings are extreme.
Most people who come for the corona vaccination are of advanced age or have previous illnesses. “But we also vaccinate younger people if there is a plausible reason,” says Schulz. Only children cannot be vaccinated in the pharmacy. For Schulz, one thing is certain: “People are still afraid of Corona. The concern is justified because Covid is not a simple cold. We will continue to vaccinate as long as the demand is there.”
Wave of illness in Kassel: doctor’s offices are “overcrowded”
And it’s obviously there: Birgit Weiner came especially from Fuldabrück to have her fifth vaccination administered at the Stern Pharmacy. “You can’t get the vaccination anywhere else anymore. “It’s not possible with my family doctor,” says the 62-year-old.
Meanwhile, many family doctors are busy dealing with the many patients who are suffering from Covid-19 or other respiratory infections. “The practice is currently overcrowded, especially Monday mornings are extreme,” says Dr. Uwe Popert, who lives on Goethestrasse with two colleagues. Most patients come with the classic symptoms of a respiratory disease: cough, runny nose, headache and body aches. “The symptoms typical of Corona, such as loss of smell, are rare,” says Popert.
It is noticeable that the wave of illness this year began in October, but it usually doesn’t start until December. “This is probably because in recent years we have also protected ourselves from banal infections with corona masks.”
Currently almost exclusively viral infections are circulating
The fact that inpatient treatment is necessary for current corona infections is the exception, says Dr. Michael Donges from Harleshausen. “But most of those who get it are already very sick,” he says. Almost exclusively viral infections are currently circulating, “for which antibiotics are of no use,” as the family doctor emphasizes.
However, patients often asked for it – under the false assumption that an antibiotic would always bring rapid improvement. However, antibiotics only work against bacterial infections, and according to Donges, they currently play little role. “Sometimes I have the impression that patients are downright angry if I don’t prescribe them an antibiotic.”
Service: The vaccination campaign at the Stern Pharmacy will be paused for the next two weeks. The next vaccination appointment will take place on Friday, January 5th, 2-5 p.m
In the past, the organizers of vaccination campaigns had to be creative: at a campaign in downtown Kassel, all vaccinated people were served Ahle sausage after the spade.